


MWD

by thehappyfangirl



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Military Working Dogs, Science Experiments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-05-16 02:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 41,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5809768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehappyfangirl/pseuds/thehappyfangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve McGarrett stayed with the Navy after his father’s death instead of leading the Governor’s task force, but remained on Oahu at the Naval Base. He volunteered for an experimental infiltration/espionage program, working with scientists with the goal of projecting his consciousness into the body of a dog. The first lab-based experiments go well, but on one of his first ‘outside’ test runs, something goes wrong and he wakes up, injured and trapped in the dog’s body with seemingly no way out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Volunteer

**Author's Note:**

> This is my 2015 NaNo project. Any errors regarding military protocol and procedure are mine. MWD is short for Military Working Dog - it's a working title until it sticks or until I think of something better.
> 
> The story began with an AU prompt list on Tumblr, and my brain grabbed this one and wouldn't let go: “i got cursed and turned into an animal and taken to the shelter and ended up getting adopted by someone who is really hot OH NO” AU." I brainstormed with a few other people and turned it into a sci-fi based instead of a magic-based idea, and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> And now it's complete! I have so many people to thank:
> 
> Sarah C., without whom this story may never have gotten off the ground. Your tweaks to the original prompt were instrumental to me even beginning to write this down.  
> Rudi W., without whom I may not have watched the show in the first place, and who cheered me on and beta'ed for me throughout the process.  
> Ricechex, who encouraged me along the way and lent me a listening ear and soundboard.  
> Heather B., my sweet cheering section even though she doesn't watch the show.  
> All the folks in my local NaNoWriMo group for their encouragement and support for getting the words out of my head to be trimmed and shaped into a story LATER.
> 
> And thanks again to all the readers who left kudos and comments along the way. If you're only now starting the completed story, thanks for stopping by :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his father's case is wrapped up, Steve volunteers for a daring new military research program and meets the team that will be overseeing the procedure.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Commander?"

Steve sat a little straighter. "Yes, sir."

Commander Heatherly nodded at the file in his hands. "I have some reservations here. Your strengths as a SEAL are commendable, your combat skills are better deployed in the field, and this program isn't designed to make use of either. You can see why I'm not inclined to approve this."

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm volunteering for your program. Nobody else has stepped up in the last three months, and I'm ready for a different kind of field work." He saw the bright smear of Anton Hesse's bloody lips every time he closed his eyes. The sharp report of Victor's gun still rang in his ears. "I'm not married. I don't have anyone you'll need to notify if something goes wrong. As far as I can tell, I'm your perfect candidate."

Steve followed Commander Heatherly's glance to the whitecoats at the table, their expressions turning inward as they weighed their options. Steve waited; they knew he was right.

One of them leaned forward, hands folded. The lamplight caught the chrome on his wheelchair. "We just wanted to be sure you knew what you were getting into. These implants aren't easily removed if you decide to opt out of--"

Steve forced his fingers straighter, spread them on the table. "I'll sign anything you need me to. I'm a military asset, just like the project. I can't sue you if anything goes wrong. I won't quit."

"You're used to working with a team, Commander."

"And I'll have a team. Just...it'll be a smaller one." One that he wouldn't see gunned down by the likes of Victor Hesse. "I'm ready to get started as soon as you say the word." If he didn't cut this short, they'd be questioning him all day.

Commander Heatherly did it for him, sliding a sheaf of papers across the table. "Then as soon as we have your signature, we'll be ready to go."

Steve took them and the pen without hesitation. With each signature, a measure of peace loosened his shoulders, calmed his mind. He had a new mission, one so different and, quite honestly, exciting that it lightened the images that hadn't left his mind since his father's case was closed and he'd put Victor Hesse into the Pacific. He pushed the papers back to Heatherly. "Where do I report?"

Another of the whitecoats spoke up. "You can come to building F in two hours. Get yourself settled in your quarters and we'll see you then for the first evaluation."

"That's all, Commander," Heatherly said, and Steve stood up when he did. "Dismissed."

"Yes, sir." He followed Heatherly out of the conference room and left the whitecoats.

His quarters were separate from the usual base housing. That was a good thing; he'd have quiet when he needed it. He had the equivalent of a studio apartment, with a large living area, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a nook with a full-sized bed, already made with spare linens in the closet. He even had a small fridge, so he assumed he wouldn't be taking meals with anyone on base. He sat down on the small couch and tried to relax, putting the TV on more for background noise rather than what was on the screen.

His father's case was concluded. Even though Detective Williams was a _haole_ , he'd brought his mainland instincts to bear on the case and, with the connections that his partner Meka had, had been able to find the human trafficker that was planning to smuggle Hesse off the island. Steve had been with him when he'd caught the lead; with Williams as his backup, they'd found Hesse and taken him out before he boarded the Chinese freighter. While he'd felt a vicious thrill when Hesse's body hit the water, it had still been a hollow one. His father was still dead. His family home was still the site of his murder.

The Governor's offer still tasted like sand in his mouth. He'd been glad to turn it down; there was nothing here on the island for him anymore, not even the chance of a rekindled relationship with his father or sister, who'd gone back to the mainland not long after the funeral. He'd transferred ownership of the house to Mary when he'd decided to volunteer for the project. He'd even had a will drawn up to leave his death benefits to his sister. If by some chance this program was his last, he at least knew that his sister would be taken care of, and she wouldn't have to do anything but show his DD-214 to the Navy.

He'd gotten wind of the project from Cath. She'd told him about the project when she'd seen him after his father's case was closed and thought he'd be a good fit. _No takedowns,_ she'd said. _Pure infiltration/exfiltration, reconnaissance._ She'd put him in contact with Commander Heatherly and, when he'd heard the details, he volunteered immediately. It was a challenge, and a way to work with the Navy in a way that nobody else had before, so different from his standard duties that it was instantly appealing, and fascinating.

It wasn't as if he could go back to his old SEAL team, after all.

Steve sighed and leaned back on the couch, setting an alarm on his watch to wake him if he happened to fall asleep. He had a feeling his first evaluation would be a psych exam, and he'd need the energy if he was going to have to deal with a psychologist try to deconstruct his decision.

His watch beeped what seemed like a minute after he closed his eyes, and he had just enough time to wash up before he headed to Building F.

Commander Heatherly was waiting for him, as was another whitecoat. "Commander, this is--"

"Doctor Carl Arbagast." He offered his hand. "I'll be your shrink today."

Steve shook his hand. "Fantastic. Where do you need me?"

"This way, Commander," Dr. Arbagast gestured down the hallway. "Commander Heatherly, I'm sure we'll both speak to you later."

"Just one more thing," Heatherly said. "Commander, from this point on, everything you're about to view is classified Top Secret and above. If anyone asks what you're doing here at the base, you're in training for special assignment." He nodded to them, already turning to leave. "Carry on."

Dr. Arbagast gestured to the first office door.. "If you'll come with me?"

Once they were both settled, the doctor leaned back in his chair. "So."

Steve sighed. "So. What do you want to know?"

"Well, I'm hoping what you tell me will check off every box on my little sheet here." He smiled. "But what I want primarily want to know is how you're feeling? I know you've had a loss recently, both in combat and in your family--"

"Doc, I'm really not interested in talking about either of those things. I don't want to dwell."

"Right. 'The only easy day was yesterday'. I have to ask, though...where do you think those feelings go when you've put them aside?"

"Does it matter? It's not like I have time to feel them now, and I don't think my _feelings_ are why I can be an asset to this program."

"The thing is, Commander, you'd be surprised at how much they may come into play, and I'm counting on you to speak up if you think you need some time between stages to deal with them. Your partner, for lack of a better term...your partner's feelings are more basic, and feeling things on a more primal level may cause your more complex feelings to present more strongly when you come out of the connection."

Steve frowned. "So what are you saying? You think I'm going to come out of this needing a blanket and a hug or something? I'm a trained professional. I can keep my own head in new situations."

"I'm saying that everyone on this program understands if you either need extra time up front to deal with your most recent losses, or between stages of the project if they happen to become an issue." Dr. Arbagast smiled at him. "We want this to succeed. The implications of this project are vast and varied. If we can make this work, it could mean new breakthroughs for espionage and infiltration with minimal loss of life. So if your reasons for volunteering for this program are to throw yourself into another mission to keep your mind off the last month or so, I don't think you'll be a good fit for us or for your partner."

Steve forced himself to relax his jaw. He took a deep breath that shook a little when he let it out. "I lost my team out there in the field on my last mission. I lost my father here on Oahu, all for a mission to capture someone who had more intel on me than I ever thought they did. The idea of going back to the duties I've been running for the past five years..." He shook his head. "No. This...it's a chance to do something different without having to pick up a gun. Without having to take out a target. Maybe I can get back to doing that one day, but now? This is what I need. Something new."

Dr. Arbagast nodded, and made a few notes. "Thank you, Commander, for your honesty. Keep that up and I think you'll get there, and I only have one more big question before I can check off the last of my tally sheet her." He smiled at him. "Are you a dog person?"

Steve smiled. "Cat person, actually. Never thought about owning a dog, but I remember some really badass MWDs that sniffed out some targets for us, and I read about the one in SEAL Team Six helped take out Bin Laden, so I definitely respect them a lot more than I used to."

"Well, I'd call that a good start." He closed his notes. "So, if you're ready, how about you come meet the team?"

Steve paused. "Will I be meeting...?"

"Your partner? Not yet. The selection process is still going on. Once we've narrowed the list to a few good candidates, we'll introduce you and offer our assessments of each of them to help with your choice."

Doctor Arbagast led Steve down the hall, and as they went farther into the building Steve heard the barking of dogs.

 

* * *

 

Steve returned to his quarters a few hours later, his thoughts in a whirl over this new mission and the team of scientists that would be part of his support. _This is going to take some getting used to._ After being in the field for years with people trained to put their lives in someone else's hands, it had been a culture shock to say the least.

The head trainer was a young civilian woman with a nice smile. _I'm Pam. Sawyer, sorry!_ She had dog hair on the cuffs of her cargo pants and he liked her on sight.

The three scientists were all military. "Doctors Finn, Cranston, and Amadi," Doctor Arbagast had introduced them. "They'll be overseeing the connection procedure. Doctor Quinn will join us when you're ready to get the neural implants. And Doctor DeSouza is our veterinarian. You'll meet her later as well."

Steve had written down a few notes to study, and would be putting the notes through the shredder once he'd memorized what he needed. They'd explained some of what would be happening once Steve was paired with his candidate

"Once we have the neural interface established, you'll be going on a few 'piggyback rides', sir," Finn had said. "For you to get used to sharing the connection without being the controlling force. Once we're satisfied, you'll be the one in the driver's seat to get used to being the one in control of things without the instincts driving the connection."

"This will all be in the lab, sir," Cranston said. "Once you have the hang of it, we'll take you for a supervised test run outside. First on base, then in public."

"You'll be going through an extensive debrief each time, of course." Finn added. "To gauge how the connection is progressing, if it's getting stronger each time, or if you're feeling at all..."

"Unbalanced," Amadi said, without rancor. "Freaked out."

"Unsteady," Arbagast said, with a sharp look at Amadi. "And we can re-evaluate how fast things should be going." He'd taken a look at Steve, then, and clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "How about we take a break, Commander? We don't want to overwhelm you on your first day." He'd given him a tablet in a protective case. "You can read things over in your quarters, and if you have any questions for me or the team, you can ask them tomorrow."

He didn't remember how he got from Building F back to his quarters. He wanted to take a run, let his mind work through everything while his body was on auto-pilot. He snorted and set the tablet aside. _Probably have to get used to that a LOT with what I'll be going through._

As he started his slow circuit that would take him around the base, he thought about what he'd signed on for, and the implications it represented. Even with the neural interface, he'd still be the one in control. But there were certain things Arbagast had said that made the hair on his arms crawl a little bit. _You're going to have to let your partner handle some of the basic stuff. Walking and running on four legs takes some getting used to, and he'll know better than you how those things work. We'll be training you to mentally 'sit back' and let him do the walking while you direct him where to go._ That was going to require a little more field testing, he figured. He'd been the one to lead his team for the last five years. He'd been the one to give the orders and know every breath and movement of his team through their missions.

_And look where that got them, sailor._

Steve shook it away and kept running, the burn in his calves familiar and pleasant.

He wondered about the initial candidates, both human and...other, but he hadn't been given access to their records. He'd ask Doc Arbagast about them tomorrow. He'd ask about a _lot_ of things tomorrow.


	2. Getting To Know You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve meets and selects his canine partner, and learns more about the previous volunteers for the program.

Steve sat on the floor of the Introduction Room as Pam had instructed, and he had a baggie of hot dog morsels to sweeten these first meetings. _See if you can get them to obey any voice commands,_ She'd said as well. _We try to take surrendered pets as much as possible so they may have been taught a few things._

Cranston had told him that the dogs he'd be meeting would be mixed breeds selected for personality and sociability from various shelters on Oahu, but that the selection process was a two-way street. _We want to make sure that you AND your partner want to work with each other._

_Just make sure it's not a yappy purse dog and I think we'll be on the right track._

He'd spent last evening looking at the AKC website and imagining what breeds of dog he felt represented him the best. He'd even resorted, with no little amusement, to various quizzes and 'So You Want A Purebred Puppy' matching algorithms to narrow the scope. The quizzes kept pointing him towards the herding breeds, and he kept thinking back to the MWDs he'd seen in Afghanistan, two Belgian Malinois that were every bit as intense as their handlers when they were on the job. Those dogs weighed about eighty pounds but they could take down a grown man, sniff out an IED, and then run five miles before dinner.

 _That_ was the kind of dog he could relate to. If the dogs he met had even a little bit of that intensity, he'd be more excited to work with them.

The first dog, number eight, was a sleek-furred Heeler mix that had the intensity that he'd been hoping for. He had high hopes as the dog snuffed at his hands and face and shirt and nibbled enthusiastically through the initial handful of treats. Once those were exhausted, however, Eight had moved to the small pile of toys and set to destroying the softest one with the same enthusiasm, ignoring kissy noises, further offers of hot dogs, even Steve shifting over to pet him. He was sorry to see Eight go, but he had a feeling that any mental interaction with him would be a battle from day one. He cleaned up the scraps of the plush toy and waited for the next dog.

Nine was heavier, a shepherd mix that seemed a little more focused on him initially and knew how to 'sit' for a treat, but shied away from his hand after the treats were doled out. He'd stretched out by the door and panted after a few minutes and showed no inclination to come over to him no matter how much Steve cajoled and offered toys and even more hot dogs. Nine was definitely a dog that he thought he could work with, and his avoidance was more disappointing than he'd expected as Finn took him back to the kennels.

 _Okay. One more to go._ If this one didn't warm up to him, he wasn't sure what would happen. Would he have to wait a few weeks while they went and selected new candidates from the shelters? Would they find a puppy on Craigslist for him to raise and bond with from day one?

He looked up when the door opened again and saw a flash of red-brown before Cranston wheeled in.

"Okay, Commander, this is number ten." Cranston led him in and offered him the leash this time before leaving them to get acquainted.

Ten looked like a retriever mix, with a fluffy tail, patchwork coat and expressive brown eyes. He sniffed at Steve's hand carefully, then more intently, tail wagging as he smelled the hot dog residue from earlier. "You like hot dogs?" he asked. "I got hot dogs here." He brought the plastic bag out and offered a morsel to the dog, and this time he got to pet him a little more while Ten ate the rest of the hot dog bits from the bag. "You're a shaggy boy, aren't you?" He stroked his ears and smiled. "Good boy." Ten looked like a fluffy mutt that could just as easily be seen chasing frisbees on the beach as he could wandering in the streets of a neighborhood, but he also knew that the dogs that searched the World Trade Center rubble were retrievers as much as they were Malinois and German shepherds.

Unlike the previous two dogs, Ten seemed content to stay close after the hot dogs were gone, and even leaned against his side as long as Steve was petting him. "What do you say?" Steve asked him. "You think we can work together, big guy? You look like a pretty smart pooch, and a lot more chill than your other friends in the kennels. Just...you don't happen to know what happened to one through seven, do you?"

Ten looked up at him, and stretched up to lick his chin when he smiled. "It's okay. We'll figure this out together." He stroked the dog softly from his nose to his forehead. Ten closed his eyes and enjoyed the touch. "Good boy."

He knew that they would both have a lot asked of them very soon, and maybe during the down times, they'd be able to relax with each other when they weren't sharing a brain and a purpose. "Good boy." He kept petting him as the dog snuggled into the crook of his arm.

It seemed too soon when Cranston came back in. Ten looked up, but didn't get up to go to him; Cranston smiled even wider at that reaction. "So, how'd we do? You think this is the one?"

Steve grinned back at him as Ten nudged his hand for more petting. "It's looking that way. Where'd you find him?"

"He's a shelter find. They said he'd been a beach stray over in Waikiki, fed by the tourists and finally picked up by animal control when he was found in one of the hotel rooms after check-out. He was the calmest of the ones we saw that day, and it seems that's served him well with you." Cranston leaned down and ruffled the dog's ears. "He's pretty too, isn't he? We think he's retriever and Aussie Shepherd mix, so you'll have a decent drive to work with, but the retriever should help calm the herding instincts. The coat pattern will even give you some camouflage if it's necessary."

Steve scratched the dog under the collar, loving the contentment of Ten's half-closed eyes. "Yeah. I think this is the one." He didn't look up as he asked. "What happens now?"

"Well, now you get to take him back to your quarters. For the next week and a half, you and number Ten here are going to get to know each other. You'll work every day with Pam to build your partnership. Earlier trials showed that this exercise strengthened the connection, and then you'll undergo the implant procedure."

Cranston paused after that. The hesitation made Steve look up, and what he saw made him frown. "What?"

"Commander, I know it's not my place to say, but--"

"You can speak freely." Steve kept scratching Ten's ears, the motion soothing for both of them. "I only get questions from the Doc. I could do with a few answers."

Steve watched him look for the words. "I know you're a SEAL, and I know you've seen a lot that you can't talk about. I'd use this time to talk about some of it with the Doc, before we get the neural interface in place."

Steve stopped petting the dog and frowned up at him. "I got that from Arbagast too. Why is everyone so concerned about my feelings? I know how to deal with them when I have a job to do."

"Hey, nobody's saying you can't." Ten nosed up under his chin as Cranston shifted in his chair. "I'm just saying that you should talk some of these things out before you interface for the first time. Connecting with a semi-sentient creature is intense. Their emotions are simple, and...well, you might find it easier to live with those than what you come back to."

Steve frowned at how careful Cranston was with his words, and he went cold as he started to understand what might have happened to previous volunteers, and why they'd asked him about any family or people counting on him that they had. "I'll keep that in mind." He'd have to ask Doc Arbagast when he saw him again. He risked his life day after day for the SEALs, but risking his mind?

He startled as he felt a 'thump' on his chest, and looked down to see Ten's paw there, and those brown eyes looking into his own. He smiled again and ruffled his ears gently, calming as he stroked his thumb between the dog's eyes. "What do you say, big guy? You want to come live with me for a little while instead of the kennels here?"

He closed his eyes and snorted a soft laugh as the dog licked his nose and cheek. "Okay, okay. We'll get out of these people's hair." He got to his feet, still holding Ten's leash. "I'm gonna need some supplies if I'm supposed to--"

"We're having a crate put in your quarters now. The dog will sleep there and is used to being kenneled when he's unsupervised. He has a couple of toys you can take with you now, and his food and dishes will be with the crate by the time you get back from here." Cranston smiled down at the dog. "Doc wanted to see you once you made your selection, so you can go ahead and see him now. Pam will see you before you go so she can show you the basics of his training so far. He knows sit, Pam's taught him down and come, and he'll keep a loose lead between you whenever you go anywhere."

Steve smiled. "Then he's already a few steps ahead of me. I still don't know how to keep a loose lead anywhere."

 

* * *

 

"Commander, please come in. I heard you made your selection today...there he is!" Arbagast grinned at both of them. "Hey, Lucky Number Ten." He patted the edge of his desk and offered the dog a bit of cheese from his sandwich. "Excellent choice."

"Lucky?" Steve petted the dog and gave him a soft 'down', sitting down in the chair as Ten made himself comfortable at his feet. "Cranston told me he was a stray."

"He was, but enough people looked out for him that crowds and strange people don't make him skittish. Eight and Nine were both dogs that had been neglected, and that affected their personalities a bit. We're hoping to get them more socialized and better able to participate in future forays into this program."

"That's something I wanted to ask about, Doc." He felt the warm weight of Ten's head across his feet. "What can you tell me about the previous volunteers for the program? Based on the numbers here, there were at most seven of them. Can I speak to them? Get their impressions of what the neural interface was like?"

He saw the way the doc's lips thinned and didn't like it. "Commander, I'm not sure what more I can tell you--"

"Look, you're going to be messing around with my brain the same way. Now I've had the training to deal with a lot of physical shit. Torture, field injuries, you name it. But if this is going to fuck with my brain? I need a little more than 'I'm not sure'." Steve leaned in, a lick of fear curling in his belly. "Cranston told me…are the previous volunteers alive?"

"Yes." But he didn't elaborate.

"Are they _compos mentis_?"

Arbagast sighed and folded his hands. "Almost all of them are."

"And the ones that aren't? What happened to them?" He thought about Mary, and their Aunt Deb. They could take care of each other if anything went too wrong, but would they be stuck taking care of _him?_

He paused, and Steve saw the same reticence that he'd seen in Cranston earlier. "The interface with the dog..." He spread his fingers, then folded his hands again with a sigh. "Early on, we asked discharged and retired veterans if they would volunteer for the program for a considerable boost in their benefits. Initially it went well, but some of them had difficulties separating from the bond when the connection was cut. They didn't seem to _want_ to come back to themselves. We found a correlation between severe PTSD sufferers and the 'separation anxiety', as it were, but by then two of the volunteers seemed to regress once we disconnected the interface, and take on the characteristics of their canine partners rather than the nightmares they knew were waiting for them in their own minds."

"Jesus." He sat back in his chair, rubbed his suddenly damp hands on his pants. _Cath couldn't have known what happened to the others, or she wouldn't have recommended the program_. "What about the others?"

"The others didn't do well under the interface, and they washed out of the program. We're trying to learn from each failure, but when you're looking for something like lightning in a bottle, there's as much luck involved as research as we work through this, and we think your case shows a lot of promise."

Steve frowned. "What do you mean 'didn't do well under the interface'?" He looked down at Ten. "I don't want to do something that's gonna hurt him." The dog hadn't had a choice in this, after all. He could have been adopted by a family instead of being chosen for military experimentation.

"Two of the people experienced ill effects from the neural interface that didn't improve with either continued connections or with alternate bond partners. One of the dogs reacted badly to the interface and became aggressive with his partner and with us."  Arbagast nodded at the two of them. "On your end, you're the first person from the special forces we've had as a volunteer, you're active duty, and it seems as if you've found a good match with Number Ten. On our end, we've refined the neural interface appliance and the connection process, so we're hoping that everything is coming together for a real success with the both of you."

Steve let out a slow breath and looked down at the dog again. "Okay. That's, ah, that's something to think about." Right now he needed a run, and to get the dog settled in his quarters. "I might have more questions for you tomorrow."

"Take your time, Commander. And you have my number if you want to call and meet somewhere. I hope you'll understand why we can't discuss any of this over the phone?"

"Of course." With another slow breath, Steve stood, clucking his tongue at the dog to come with him. "I'll see you tomorrow." The run would do them both good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was making edits to chapter three as I was working on this one, and should have the next chapter up by mid-week.
> 
> Also, because the face was just too cute to resist, this is Steve's new canine partner:
> 
>  


	3. First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve takes several steps to make sure he's a good fit for the program and his new partner, and experiences the interface for the first time.

"Okay, Commander, you've had a chance to practice commands with him and how to shape new behaviors. Now we start working on terrain navigation." Pam smiled at Steve and Ten, as they'd kept calling him since he responded to it and renaming him would cause already-redacted reports to be amended. "You and the dog will navigate the confidence course once with the targeting stick, then we strap on the camera and you'll get the first taste of what he sees." She winked at him. "Hope you still have your sea legs, sailor."

Steve snorted a quiet laugh and clucked to the dog, holding the targeting stick in front of him and patting the treat pouch. "Ready buddy? Let's go!" Ten followed him to the tunnel and then over the low bar of the first jump, chased the end of the stick up the gentle slope of the see-saw until his weight gently tipped the board so he could run down. He was pretty sure that Ten had done his share of running and jumping up and down the beaches and jetties of the Hawaiian coast, so he was confident that they had a good foundation to build on. The a-frame had been a challenge, but with Steve encouraging him he scrambled up and down the steep wooden slopes. "Good boooy!" After that, the rest of the course was a series of jumps and a set of weave poles that he bounced through eagerly. He thought the dog was smiling with him when they both trotted back to Pam.

"Good job, both of you!" Pam petted the dog as Steve doled out the cheese bites. "We'll be increasing the difficulty of the terrain over time, like we'd train a search and rescue dog. If you two will be doing reconnaissance, he'll have to know how to navigate pretty much anything you come across, because you won't always be the one doing the walking for him." Pam leaned down and strapped the harness with the camera on it onto Ten. "Commander, if you want to go to the table over there and put the goggles on? You'll get a dog's eye view of the confidence course. Just make sure you're sitting down."

Steve smiled as Ten started to follow him off the course. "No no, big guy. You stay with Pam." She clucked to him and rattled the treat pouch, and he came back to her readily enough. It warmed him that Ten wanted to stay close to him, though. He might still be a cat person, but he was really starting to like his new partner.

He reached the table with the goggles and pulled them over his eyes. He'd worked missions on a heads-up display before, and led teams remotely without an issue. He turned the VR goggles on, and grabbed the edge of the table when they flickered on and all he had was the shaky-cam dog's eye view of the world around him.

"You okay, Commander? First time using VR?"

"I'm okay!" he called to her, swallowing hard, and flashed her the thumbs up. "We're a go on this end."

"Okay, Ten, let's go again!" he heard her say, and they were off.

It was a whole new experience, seeing things from this perspective, and as each obstacle loomed into view he could see why the dog hesitated over some of the more challenging ones. He knew that he would have to get used to not just working through the dog's eyes, but also 'sitting back' mentally and letting the dog's own agility work for him. This was the first taste, and he took deep breaths and tried to go with the bumpy, panting flow of the dog over the see-saw, the tunnel, and good god, that A-frame that suddenly looked twenty feet tall. When he worked the confidence course with his SEAL team, they'd had each other to get over a wall like that. As the dog, at least he'd have a body designed for this kind of work and the claws to grip most surfaces without getting hurt or scratched.

He had to close his eyes when Ten reached the weave poles until he heard Ten's paws scrabbling faster to get over the last two jumps. Pam loomed huge at the end of the course, laughing as she ruffled Ten's ears. "Who's a good boy, huh? Who?" She disappeared as Ten turned to rub against her legs. "You can take them off now, Commander."

Steve slid the goggles off and blinked in the afternoon sun as Pam led Ten to him and the bowl of water under the table. "What did you think?" she asked. "Rougher ride than you were expecting?"

Steve knew when he was caught off guard, and smiled as he owned it. "It's gonna take some getting used to." He patted Ten's shoulders as the dog lapped eagerly from the dish. "We gonna go again?"

"Maybe one more time, then we'll call it until later. Once we get you two working together through the interface, we'll start working scent detection and tracking, where you'll learn to integrate your knowledge with his nose." She reached down and ruffled Ten's shoulder. "Can you imagine the implications of that? Sending a bonded canine to find a missing person with a tracker attached to mark their position? It could save so many more lives because they could go in more places than a dog and handler could go."

Steve knew Pam was the only civvie on the team, which meant she had to be both amazing at her job and willing to forsake any credit to work on the project. "You've done search and rescue before?"

She nodded. "In Haiti, after the earthquake. It was tough work, and a lot more bodies than live finds. A lot of searches that couldn't be executed because buildings might be stable enough for the dog, but not for a handler to go with them." She smiled and petted Ten. "That's why this program is important. If we can find the right people for it, and perfect the bond, we could change the way we do search and rescue, not just infiltration or reconnaissance."

"I'm surprised that they aren't using birds for this. I would think a hawk or a falcon could cover enough ground in a few hours than a dog could cover in a day."

Pam chuckled. "You go ahead and ask Finn what happened when they looked into using birds. I'm told there was projectile vomiting just with the camera and VR and it never progressed to the neural interface. Plus, if you end up faltering as a dog, the dog may stumble and fall. Do that while flying, and you end up with an injured or dead bird."

"And I'm guessing you don't train birds?"

"You'd guess right. Finn said they were too fragile too. Even a small injury could sideline them for weeks, and if they were injured in the field they were as good as lost. Dogs have the stamina, the agility, and they're already used to working with people. The only other domesticated animals were either too conspicuous, like horses, or they're cats, who people can't even research because they don't cooperate in any kind of scientific environment." Pam laughed. "Besides, if you were an injured soldier behind enemy lines and saw a cat approaching, would you think you were being rescued, or would you see your first meal in three days?"

Steve laughed with her, knowing she was right. "Looks like dogs are the way to go, right buddy?" Ten sat up and panted as Steve petted his ears and his chest. "You ready to go again?" He liked Pam's smile, and the way she seemed to balance practicality with passion.

_Like someone who has their shit together, right sailor?_

"Okay, one more time with the VR goggles. I'll take him through again, but in a different order. It's your job to figure out which ones they are as we go through them."

"Sounds good." Steve took a swallow of water and set the goggles on again. He could do this. Dogs did it every day, right?

"Aaaaand go!"

 

* * *

 

Steve settled Ten in his crate and the air conditioning this time before heading back to Building F to speak to Doc Arbagast. It was a week before he'd have the neural interface network implanted, if the Doc rubber-stamped his progress sheet. He already knew from the way that Finn and Cranston, and even Amadi smiled at him that he was doing well so far. The team was working to socialize and train Eight and Nine but, from what he knew, no one else had been recruited or had volunteered for this assignment.

He was it. And that somehow made him even more determined to get through the issues that Cranston had mentioned during those first days. He rapped lightly on the door and entered when he heard the doc call him in.

"How was the confidence course, Commander? What did you think of the dog's eye view of things?" Doc smiled and waved him towards the chair.

"It was definitely something new." Steve sat down and rubbed the back of his neck. "I may have my sea legs, but once the neural interface is up and running, you might want to have a bucket nearby." It was one thing to see the camera bobbing on the dog's shaggy back. It would be quite another to be behind the dog's eyes.

Doc laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. How are you and number Ten getting along? I know you're not exactly a dog person..."

"Actually, we're doing pretty good. He hogs the covers a little at night, but I think we're making it work." Steve took a deep breath and settled back in the chair a little more firmly. "And that's something...I think I'm ready to talk about." His heartbeat quickened at the thought of opening up about anything, but the sooner he started down this path, the sooner he could move forward with the program.

Doc didn't seem affected either way. "It's your hour, Commander. Where would you like to start?"

Steve took another breath. He hadn't told Cath about this. He hadn't told anyone, hadn't had time to really deal with it. Ironically, it was when he and Ten had settled into their groove that the nightmares had started. Instead of waking in a cold sweat blinking up at the dark alone, he had a warm tongue licking his hand or face to wake him, and a pair of sweet brown eyes watching him, worried without judgment.

Last night he'd cried on his furry shoulder, and slept a lot better for it once he'd settled down again.

"I went through BUD/s with a guy named Freddie Hart..."

 

* * *

 

Steve stood in front the one-way glass, watching Ten chew a new bone on his mat as Finn sat in a nearby chair. _This is it._ Last week he and Ten had both gotten their neural implants. Today they were fully recovered and ready for the next step. Steve swallowed and turned away from the window to take his seat in the chair. He let Cranston put the monitoring sensors on his chest and the pulse ox clip on his finger. "No I.V. today. You'll only be out for a few minutes this time. Good luck, Commander." He moved back as Amadi moved in.

Amadi's warm fingers touched his temples and turned his head carefully. "Okay. This might feel a little strange. Some of the volunteers said it felt cold." Amadi held his forehead still and pressed the jack into the implant just behind his ear; Steve sucked in a breath as he felt a little electric fizz-chill from the base of his neck to his fingertips.

"Cold?"

Steve almost shook his head, but kept it to a little twitch of his chin to keep the wires from tugging. "No. Just...weird." He smiled as Amadi lowered the back of his chair until he was lying nearly flat. "Should I be calling you Morpheus?"

"Trust me, Commander, you don't want to be leaping from rooftops for this." Cranston said from behind the bank of screens by the window. "We're good on this end. Everybody ready?"

Steve flashed the thumbs-up. "Ready."

"Ready," Finn's voice crackled over the intercom. "Ten's ready to go too."

Steve took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Okay, Commander. Interface in three, two…"

_Dark._

_Cold._

_LOUD._

Steve opened his 'eyes' and everything was different. The colors he saw were muted, but the colors he smelled were bright and almost painful and made him want to sneeze. The world became a nauseating blur as the dog jumped up from his bone and turned this way and that, trying to find the source of what was probably a very new sensation in its own head. _Strange-fear, curiosity, snuffing at the air and smelling good hot dog man._ The dog panted, tasted the smells in the air. He felt his stomach roll again as Ten took a few whining steps towards good hot dog man, and heard words as a loud but happy blur. Steve understood the _good boy, how you doing?_ But Ten didn't understand anything but that good hot dog man was happy with him. It was a very good feeling, and he felt the shift in his hindquarters back and forth, back and forth. Ten was wagging his tail.

He tried his best to relax and do what the doc and Cranston had told him. This was his first experience with the neural interface, and he wasn't the one in control of the dog's body. His assignment was to integrate his perceptions with Ten's, and get used to the sensory input through the mind of the dog. It was harder than he thought, the dog had barely taken a few steps and he already wanted to throw up.

He felt the touch on the dog's head. Good hot dog man was petting him, and it felt amazing. _Good boy, can you sit?_ SIT. That one prompted HAPPY YES SIT as he sank to his hindquarters. GOOD BOY? He nibbled the hot dog eagerly from good hot dog man, the flavor sharp on his tongue. HAPPY GOOD BOY. The unfettered joy at the touch made his heart jump in his chest, and for a moment he forgot what he was supposed to be thinking in the face of that kind of happiness. He leaned into the touch, tail still thumping on the floor, and he closed his eyes in an ecstasy of contentment.

_Dark._

_Cold._

He was back.

Tears streamed down his face as opened his human eyes; Doc Arbagast's hand was gentle on his chest. "Steady, Commander. You're back with us. Are you all right? Can you tell me what day it is?"

Steve swallowed around the knot of emotion in his throat and blinked up at him. "Tuesday." He gripped his arm rests and looked around at the others as Amadi raised the chair for him to sit up. "What...?" He still had the phantom taste of the hot dog in his mouth.

"We've seen this before, Commander. It's all right. A little like coming out of anesthesia. How are you feeling?"

Steve looked through the window at Ten, who was still sitting with Finn and enjoying the petting. "I...I don't know." He wiped the tears from his face, careful not to move and dislodge the delicate wires that ran from the neural implant. He watched Ten and swallowed back what felt like a sob with the want of that quiet contentment.

Doc squeezed his shoulder. "It's all right. We're used to that one too. It's a little intense the first time. You did very well, though. Your vitals remained stable and you came back faster than some of the others."

Amadi moved in to check the implant. "Let's get you disconnected." He gently reached up to power down the interface and Steve felt more than heard the 'click' as he disconnected the implant from the machine. He ignored it all, still watching Ten and Finn's petting hand.

"Deep breaths, Commander. That's it. Cranston, you want to close that?" Only when the partition slid down the glass, cutting him off from the dog, did he look back at Doc, who smiled at him. "I..."

"Can you tell me your rank and service number?"

Steve rattled them off without hesitation; he knew those better than he knew his own name.

"Excellent. We kept you in there for just a short time this time. We'll have another session this afternoon and see if you can for a little longer." He leaned back to let Amadi and Cranston take care of him. "Come to my office when you're situated here for a debrief."

Steve nodded and watched him go. Cranston wheeled in and shone a small penlight in his eyes. "Equal and reactive," he dictated to the recorder around his neck. "Vitals within normal parameters. What day is it again, Commander? Who's the President?"

Steve narrowed his eyes at the questions. "I'm not in shock. It's Tuesday, and Barack Obama is POTUS." He stood up slowly, his own body feeling strange and tall despite the earlier nausea when he'd been using the dog's eyes. "Are we good?" He wanted to talk this over with the doc instead of the Whitecoat Squad.

Cranston shrugged and rolled back to give him room. "As soon as you have your balance, you can head out."

"What about Ten?" His fingers twitched as he let go of the chair to test his equilibrium. He was feeling jittery, like when he woke up from one of the Freddie dreams, but he didn't have the dog close by to help ease the shakes this time.

"Doctor DeSouza's going to do a quick exam and I'll have someone bring him to Arbagast's office. He wanted to see you without the dog first."

Steve frowned at him, careful on his legs like he expected to fall. With a glance at the closed partition, he left the interface room and headed for the offices.

It felt weird not having Ten at his side after the last three weeks of constant companionship. _He should have a better name. He's not a number any more than I'm my service number._ He'd come up with something once they were together again. This time he didn't wait after he knocked on the doc's door; when he was in Building F, Steve knew he was the only patient.

"Have a seat, Commander." Steve sat as Doc leaned forward in his chair. "I know you probably have a lot on your mind right now, but let's talk about how you're feeling."

It took Steve a moment to gather the right words. "I feel different. Like...like I was shown something that maybe I'm not supposed to see? But I'm not--I don't regret seeing it."

"It's true that not many people get the insights you were given in there. How often have we wondered what animals were thinking, especially our pets? But it can be a shock too. Their sensory processes, how they navigate their environment, their emotions. How did that feel?"

Steve couldn't help smiling, and reached down to pet a shaggy head that wasn't there. "The sensory part was different. Hearing, smell...way sharper, like I could see scents and sounds. And moving around felt smoother somehow. Like I know it'll be easier when I get used to it."

"Maneuvering on four legs is much easier than moving on two. What other impressions did you get? How about touch?"

Steve leaned back, eyes half-closing in remembered contentment. "That was nice. Real nice. That trust..."

"Trust?"

Steve opened his eyes again. "In the SEALs, trust is key. You have to trust your teammates with your life, and they trust you with theirs. When Finn started petting him..." He blinked, and was surprised to find himself near tears again.

"You could feel that trust in the dog?"

"It--it was more than that. If I'm too injured to continue a mission without risking more lives, I expect my team to leave me behind and I would fight to cover their retreat. Like Freddie did. This." He had to thumb at his eye, ignoring the box of tissues that the doc nudged at him. "This was absolute trust. Like if he told me to do something, I would do it. Not because I was trained to, but...I'd want to. Just to feel him pet me again."

"Commander, did you realize that you shifted to talking about yourself just then?"

They were both silent for a minute as Steve worked through what he'd said, and what he'd felt while he was saying it. "I'm not trying to overidentify here--"

"I didn't say you were."

"It's just been a long time since I felt that kind of trust." Steve pressed at his closed eyes and sighed. "It's the kind of trust a child has for his parents." He opened his eyes and saw the concern in the gentle knit of the doc's brow, like he was trying to hide it. "It's not happening to me, but...I can see where someone might not want to come back after feeling it again."

"It's all right to say that you're feeling it too. The first connection can be pretty overwhelming." The doc nodded, the knit in his brow fading to his usual curious gaze. "Do you think you can manage another session this evening? Just piggybacking again. We won't try a full merge for at least twenty four hours after you feel you're getting the hang of things."

Steve considered what even those few minutes had brought up, and as he did he heard the click-click of claws on the floor outside; Ten was waiting for him. "Yes, sir. I just need a few hours." He needed a run. And to take Ten through the confidence course with Pam again. And to just pet him for a while and sit with the feelings behind those half-closed sleepy eyes.


	4. Practice makes...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve learns the ins and outs of the canine interface over the next month.

_One week:_

 

"Okay, Commander. Interface in three. Two. One..."

By now the rush was familiar, like his mind racing down a bright tunnel, and when he opened his eyes again, it was like waking up next to an old friend.  Steve raised his shaggy head slowly and panted.  Finn was in the chair in front of him, holding a bag of hot dog bits.

After a week of practicing, the dog's emotions calmed to a low hum his mind and he was more used to both taking control and easing back to let Ten lead the way. Ten knew how to walk and run under Steve's guidance outside his head, and he was finally starting to listen when Steve was _inside_ his head. That balance between who was 'driving' pushed them into the next stage more quickly than any of them anticipated. _Good boy._

He pushed up into a sit and let himself acclimate.

"Are you in there, Commander? Give us a wave if you can understand me."

Steve lifted his front paw up high and barked; Finn laughed and tossed him a bit of hot dog.  He snapped for it, but shook his head with a snort as it bounced off his nose.  He sniffed for it eagerly and licked it off the floor, forgetting for a moment about how many people might have walked where he licked. He'd get better at catching.

He startled as the door opened again, but panted when he caught sight of Pam. The dog clearly liked Pam, especially seeing her laugh when he wagged his tail. "Hey you two," she said to him and the dog. "Come in into the next room and we'll get started." 

He followed Pam eagerly, butting his muzzle against her hand until she petted him again. They both liked that.

"All right, let's try some agility work. Just low jumps, and the weave poles. You ready? Take the first jump, then the weave poles, then up on the platform and lie down."

These instructions would be meaningless to a dog, but with Steve in Ten's head, he'd show him the way to go.

"Aaand, go!"

 _Go jump!_ Steve settled back and let the dog take the first small jump at a bound, having gotten used to the roll of his gait in the past week. _Now weave-weave-weave!_ He shifted a little closer to the 'foreground' as Ten bounced in and out of the weave poles. _Good boy! Now up and down!_

It was easy enough to hop up onto the platform, and this time when Ten went down to his chest, he slipped into the driver's seat and rolled onto his back, all four paws in the air.

Pam laughed and clapped her hands, and both of them felt the warmth of it. Ten knew the happy sound too, and Steve could feel his tail wagging as he barked at her. He rolled back to his feet and jumped down off the platform himself, walking slowly up to her for a pet and a treat.  He knew how awkward he looked, but he wanted to use this practice time to be able to move more naturally and stay in control while he and Ten were connected.

"Is that you driving in there, Commander? Nice job! You're getting better at it. Remember, back legs for speed, front legs for steering."  She ruffled his ears and slipped him a bite of hot dog. They both liked hot dogs.  "How about we do some finds? I've hidden a packet of mock explosives in the building. Think you can find it for me in less than ten minutes?"

Steve perked his ears and nuzzled at Pam's hand. He was much better at the find-it game than he was at the agility.  She smiled and let him sniff a paper towel, and right away the scent of the explosive bloomed an ugly green.  He lifted his head and sniffed, and soon he saw the spots of green that she had trailed into the room.  He trotted out, and down the hall, sniffing eagerly from green spot to fading green spots until he reached the closed door of Doctor Arbagast's office. He barked twice and sat down, pawing lightly at the door until Pam opened it for him. "It's in here, huh?"

He snuffled the air and followed the green scent in the big black filing cabinet. He touched it with his nose softly and 'wuff'-ed, backing up to let her come in and open the bottom drawer.  "Time...four and a half minutes! Good job!"  She ruffled his ears again and kissed his nose before she caught herself sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Commander."

He didn't mind so much.

"All right, this time you have to find Doctor Amadi. I know his scent is part of the regular smells in the building, but while you were looking for the bomb, he went and hid and needs you to find him."  She pulled out another paper towel and let him sniff, and he recognized Amadi's warm orangey-brown scent.  He took another sniff of the air, keeping his nose high as he trotted back down the hall. There were faint pulses of his scent everywhere, but as he passed the doorway to the stairs he caught a brighter one.  Before Pam could open the door for him, he reared up and pawed at the levered knob so it opened as he slid his weight back down the door. 

He heard the 'good boy!' from behind him and hesitated at the foot of the stairs. He could practice the stairs another time; he had to find Amadi, so he pulled back a little and urged Ten to _go go go!_ Pam followed him up the stairs and he touched his nose to the crack of the stairway door. No, not here. He sent Ten up the next flight of stairs, and this time the scent was stronger under this stairwell door. He pawed at the door until Pam opened it and then it was a quick snuffle and scramble and THERE HE WAS kneeling behind a desk in one of the offices.

The hot dog bites definitely tasted better when he was being petted. 

* * *

 

"How are things going, Commander? I've gotten great reports on your progress. How are you feeling about it?"

"I'm doing great, Doc. We're both getting the hang of things pretty quickly." He smiled down at Ten panting up at him. "He's got a hell of a nose. Don't you, buddy?"

"And the emotional side of things? How is that progressing?"

"I gotta admit, the first couple times, I needed some downtime to process things, but I think we're getting better." He looked down again. "I haven't seen any adverse effects on his end other than him staying a little closer on the nights after we interface. On mine, the downtime is only about an hour."

"And the dreams?"

"Under control. He wakes me up if things take a bad turn." Steve ruffled Ten's chest. "Don't know how I'd get through the night without him."

"I'm glad to see you happy and comfortable. Both of you. Doctor Amadi's waiting for you to get a head CT, and you can drop Ten off with Doctor DeSouza for the same."

 

* * *

 

_Two Weeks:_

"All right, Commander. We've done scent detection and tracking this week. Today it's scent discrimination. We're going to have you search for the item among a stack of similar items that someone may have touched.  There are a bunch of scents to distract you, but you have to find the right one.  Are you ready?"  
  
Steve gave a soft 'wuff!' at Pam and waited for his next instruction.

It was getting easier to move in the dog's body, and filter all the info that flooded his brain with every sniff of the air. It was hard adapting to a life where scent ruled over all else, but he was getting better.

Today he'd be finding a familiar scent among a pile of familiar and unfamiliar scents. He could do it.

"Okay, here we go."  Pam opened a zip locked baggie and Steve shoved his nose in. The smell was sharp and earthy at the same time, warm brown-black and savory across his tongue.

"Got it?" Another 'wuff!' and she smiled. "Let's go!"

She led the way around Building F where a pile of battered and cracked combat boots awaited them. "All right, Commander. Find the boot with the smell inside it."

The wind shifted and the reek of old feet it carried with it made Steve sneeze, but he headed toward the pile and started to sniff.  He tried his best to ignore the barrage of scents that all but assaulted his tender nose and circled the pile. When the wind shifted again...there. He caught a faint whiff of the savory brown-black of it and started pawing at the pile. The closer he got towards the scent, the more that the rest of the scents faded from his focus until finally he reached the center of  the pile and he could smell it, fresh inside the old boot. 

He pulled the boot out and brought it to her, wagging his tail as she took it and pulled out the small baggie of licorice.  "That was a good job! Just five minutes and a LOT of smelly feet."  
  
Steve barked up at her, excited and dancing on his paws. "You want to do another one? I have another one set up if you're ready to go on another treasure hunt."

He trotted behind her and they headed back inside and to the indoor version of the confidence course. "This one's not quite as stinky, but it's challenging. Are you ready?"  She offered him another baggie, and this one had the familiar sweet-sharp scent of berries. "There's a wooden dowel dipped in this scent somewhere in here. Can you find it?"

Steve put his nose to the floor and headed carefully towards the lockers that usually held other training equipment and would likely hide what he was looking for, but the scent faded when he got closer.  He cast about, again, trotted along the confidence course, his nose tipping up before he touched it back to the floor...

Wait.

He lifted his head and sniffed again, and this time he saw a thread of the scent near the a-frame.  He trotted back across the room again and stopped at the bottom of the a-frame, where the scent drifted down from the _top_ of it.  He put both his paws on the bottom of the a-frame and barked, scratching at it until he heard Pam come close.

"Great job!" She petted him and brought the canvas packet down to show him. "Just like a lot of scent dogs I've worked with. Their nose finds the smell before their brain even registers."  He wagged his tail and leaned on her leg while she ruffled his ears.  "Let's give your nose a break and you can run the course a few times." She grinned down at him. "Work on that a-frame until you're up and over like a champ."

 

* * *

 

"Hey Pam. Is fur face ready for his CT?"  
  
"The Commander found out that Ten's going under anesthesia for the CT and volunteered to stay in the interface for it." She patted his shoulder and Steve licked her hand gently. "Now your patient will hold still without having to put him under."

Dr. DeSouza smiled down at him. "That's mighty kind of you, Commander. Let's get you situated. I'll still have to do the IV though."

Steve followed her down the short hallway, tail wagging as he tried to calm Ten's anxiety. They could do this.

 

* * *

 

_Three Weeks:_

 

Steve rode with Amadi today, and watched the scenery from the passenger seat as they headed down the H1, away from the tourist areas and towards the forests that he'd enjoyed as a boy. Today he'd be experiencing them in a whole new way, and he panted to quell his own excitement.

 _None of the other candidates have gotten this far, Commander_ , he remembered Doc Arbagast's words. _We're all very excited to see how you do._

The tracking collar felt heavy an alien around his neck. If all went well, they told him, they'd fit Ten with a tracking chip so could find him anywhere and it would let him pass for a normal stray dog. _A dog with a collar tends to get picked up by good samaritans_ , Cranston said. _That's why you'll be in the forest today._ It was also to get him away from crowds or other people that might try and pick him up to take him to a shelter. Since he'd be tracking and finding someone in the forest, it would be easier to get away from distractions and other human scents.

Amadi smiled over at him and cracked the window on his side. Steve had to close his eyes as the myriad scents streamed in from the window, and he pressed his nose against the crack to take them all in with nose and mouth. He heard Amadi laugh from the drivers seat and call into his radio. "Even a Navy SEAL dog likes to stick his head out the window."

Steve didn't care. Everything smelled _amazing_.

Soon Amadi turned off the main road and onto a dirt-and-gravel path that led up one of the mountains. When Steve couldn't smell the asphalt of the road anymore, the car slowed and stopped. "Okay, Commander. Let's go." Amadi unbuckled him. "Time to go to work."  
  
Steve crossed over the seats and leaped lightly out of the car. He lifted his head to snuffle the air, the scents familiar from his memories, but so much stronger and brighter in the dog's nose and mind. He did his best to catalog them, separating them from the scent he knew he'd need to find until Amadi clucked his tongue at him.

  
He walked over to him and sniffed as Amadi pulled out a plastic bag with a paper towel inside. "You're going to find Pam today. She's laid a trail for about a mile into these woods. You have an hour to track her down. She'll activate the beacon on your collar to let us know you found her, then you'll both come back here up your back trail. Ready?"  
  
Steve bounced on his front paws and gave a soft 'wuff!'. He was ready for this.

"Okay, Commander. Here's the scent." Steve leaned in and snuffled at the paper towel, knowing Pam's warm brown-green scent as well as he knew his own (he'd sniffed at his own clothes at one point, and knew he had a sharp electric blue smell).

"Go find her!" Amadi said, ruffling his ears with a nudge towards the trees.

Steve cast about eagerly, back and forth, back and forth, seeking traces of that brown-green amid the sharper scents of the forest....there! He saw one of the blooms of her scent and bounded after it.

Moving as the dog had become second nature, and he scrambled down the dirt hills and undergrowth easily. The tracking part was a little more difficult, mostly because he had to keep himself from looking around at the branches for signs of a disturbance. Tracking as a person was about noticing everything, but tracking as a dog was all about the scent trails. His scent detection work had showed him all about how scents weren't just where people left them. Scent particles fell and faded, pooled in places with low ventilation and flowed with the air currents when there were currents to be had.

Scent tracking was also very important during his training, because he _had_ to be in the mental driver's seat. If he let the dog have his head when they were tracking, the dog would get so eager to find the scents that he might walk into danger without even knowing it. _I've seen dogs nearly jump off of overpasses because the scent circulated over the railing,_ Pam had told him, _So you have to be the one guiding him, and take a look up every now and then to see where you're going._

He followed the trailing swirls of Pam's scent down the mountain. He was well off the beaten path now, and knew that Pam would be simulating an injured hiker or disaster victim, who probably lost their balance on the trail and were stuck somewhere they couldn't get out. Finn might have pretended to be an escaped prisoner who was trying to hide his trail and stay off the path as much as possible. Knowing Pam's hiding strategy was also key to him finding her; this was why this program was important. A human mind behind a dog's abilities would be _invaluable_ in the field _._ He wanted to make this program a success as much as the team.

The blooms of scents were getting stronger the further down he scuffled and scrambled. He barked twice and listened, to see if she would answer back. That was another advantage to know that a bonded pair were looking for you; you could shout back to them to let them know where you were. Knowing Pam, however, she was doing the full-on trapped/unconscious victim and he'd have to find her and 'wake' her up.

Faster now, faster. He was almost there, the warm brown-green strong and somehow LOUD in his nose.  He looked up--

\--and skidded to a stop as he reached the edge of a small cliff. He caught his breath as he watched the leaves drift down and took stock of her scent trail. She wasn't air dropped in, so there had to be a way for her to get down past this cliff on foot.  So where...there.  The path was semi-obscured, but if it was navigable by a person, he had two more legs to balance and move.  He crept carefully, belly low to the ground, and soon enough the ground leveled off and he could pick up the pace again.

Stronger now, with each bloom of scent brighter on the ground. He was close he was close he was CLOSE.

He heard her breath then, and then she shifted out from under the tree roots and called to him. He was at her side in a bound and she pulled him into a hug. "Good job!" she called, and ruffled his ears and petted his nose and he pressed into her touch and praise like it was everything he ever wanted out of this exercise. "You saved me, good boy!"

He pulled reluctantly away after a few more moments of petting and shook his head to bring her attention to the collar.  "Right! Right, oh my god, I've been so busy hugging you I keep forgetting."  She pressed the button on his collar and activate the tracking beacon.  She then dug into her pack for some water, holding the bottle for him so he could drink. "That was thirsty work, Commander, and we still have to find our way back."

 

* * *

 

_Four weeks:_

"I'm telling you that the longer and more frequent times Steve's spent in the bond has affected both him and the dog."  Pam opened her computer and double-clicked the file. "We might not be able to gauge it physiologically but from what I've seen--"

"We've all seen the changes, Pam," Arbagast said. "I can assure you that he's lucid and honest about his feelings after every interface. He's not a danger to himself or others."

"I understand that," she said. "What I'm saying that you should start thinking ahead. Take a look at this video."  She turned on the projector and they all looked at the CCTV video file. "This was taken between training exercises two days ago."

Steve and Ten sat together at the edge of the confidence course. Pam appeared at the edge of the screen, and Steve and the dog's motions were eerily synchronous when they turned to look at her.

"What?" Cranston said. "They probably both heard you at once."

"That's not the important bit. I asked to borrow Ten for a bit for an exam and some tests. This was the first time Ten didn't come when I called him."  Steve's brow furrowed and he stood up and walked Ten over to Pam. He handed her the leash and, as she walked out of the room...

"Here."  
  
Steve stayed by the door, fingers splayed out on it, then he pressed his forehead to it. His breath quickened; they could see it in the rise and fall of his chest. The time stamp on the video counted forty-five seconds until he opened the door and left.

"He didn't calm down until he went to the exam room. Ten was agitated too, but not to the same extent. And here. Once they were reunited?"

The footage cut to the exam room, Steve down on one knee as Ten wriggled in his arms for about ten seconds, but then they both stilled as Steve pressed his forehead to the dog's and seemed to visibly calm as he stroked both hands down the dog's sides.

Pam looked at the rest of the team as they watched, especially the way Arbagast's face changed until the stopped the playback.

"I'm documenting these changes as I see them. I want there to be a record about how this is affecting both of them, and how it might affect the future of this program, or even Commander McGarrett's return to the field."

"Really." Arbagast's voice was devoid of a question. "He's a SEAL. He and the dog are close, but I assure you, his adaptability--"

"I'll be glad to retract my opinion, but it's my assertion that we might be looking at some kind of extreme separation anxiety. It's not the kind of regression we'd seen with the other volunteers. The longer Steve's spends in the bond, the more I think it will affect them when they're separated."

"So what would be your suggestion, _Doctor_?" Amadi said, and Pam sighed at the direct challenge to her opinion.

"I'll admit I'm a behaviorist, not a scientist," she said. "I just want it on the record that this could be a problem, especially if we start extending the time and frequency of the interfaces. For all we know, this could lead to some kind of addiction to the bond, or even a separation psychosis once Ten dies that might point to discontinuing the program."

"Not continue the program?" Finn spoke up. "Steve's our biggest success story. We've already gotten clearance from Commander Heatherly to recruit two more candidates. We're evaluating the K9 corps now for viable--."

Pam looked at all of them. "What? I can't speak against that more strongly. We only have one candidate out of _ten_ who is stable enough to articulate the bond and how it affected him."

"Then I trust that you'll continue to report your observations to us on a weekly basis or as problems arise." Arbagast held up a forestalling hand. "Thank you for bringing this to us, Miss Sawyer. You can return to your duties, working with Ten and Steve, and working to socialize Eight and Nine for future recruits."

Pam opened her mouth to say more, but while Arbagast's expression had turned expectant, the others had gone back to their notes.  She sighed and took the tacit dismissal for what it was, gathered up her computer and left the meeting.


	5. Incidents and Accidents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drive home becomes more complicated by accident.

"Did we have fun this weekend or what?"

"I had lots of fun, Danno." Danny smiled over at a sleepy Grace, already sorry that their weekend was over but glad for the adventure they had on his meager budget. Grace had gotten her mother's camera for the weekend, and the two of them had a great day at the beach taking pictures of all the pretty shells they could find.  Next weekend maybe he'd get one of those waterproof disposable ones and they could go snorkeling, or to one of the tide pools that she loved so much.

He might hate the water, but he loved his daughter, and for the next however long his ex-wife's new husband could do business in Hawaii...well, here they were.

"So tell me what you have coming up in school. Any projects I can help with? I don't want to miss anything."

"I have a science project for Miss Nailani's class where I have to grow beans in a jar. Mom said she would help with that."

"Yeah? Well you make sure to take pictures for me, okay? What else happened last week?"

"Okay.  Alani came over the other day with Lucy to see Mister Hoppy, and we got to play Mario Kart and Barbies..."

He tried to listen to Grace, he really did, but now that the day was done and they were out of the Hawaiian heat, he was starting to feel every minute of their day together and every minute of sleep he'd need to be ready for both his shift at the Honolulu Police Department and the evening job working the construction site. He just hoped the hot water would hang in there through the shower he needed _and_ his neighbors didn't decide to have one of their knock-down drag-outs _and_ it didn't rain because he hadn't had time to fix the leak in the living room--

"Look out!"

Danny startled forward and cut the wheel to the right, just missing the cat that had run into the road, but the thump and the yelp as he came to a stop told him that the cat had been running from something. _Shit. ShitshitSHIT._   "You okay?"

She had her hands over her mouth and her eyes were so big and watery. "The dog, Daddy...is the dog okay?"

"I'm gonna go check right now, Grace. You stay right here in the car, okay? I'm gonna go check." Danny took a deep breath before he opened the door, saying a silent prayer. "Here," he handed her the phone. "See if you can find where the closest emergency veterinarian is. We might have to take the dog there if he's hurt." She took the phone, tears streaming already but she snuffed them back at the new responsibility.  

"I'll be right back, baby." He got out of the car and headed around to the front bumper, braced for the worst.

The dog's eyes were open, and he breathed half a sigh of relief as they rolled to look at him. "Aw, buddy, I'm sorry." He knelt to check him over when the dog didn't stir. "Can you move?"  He stroked his hand down the patchy-furred shoulder back to his hip, pulling his hand back when the dog whimpered. "That where I clipped you?"

The dog panted with little whimpers at the end of each breath, his distress ratcheting Danny's heartbeat higher. "You stay here. We're gonna get you some help."  He stood and went back to his door, yanking it open to get the back seats down.

"Is the dog okay, Danno?"

"He's alive, Gracie, but he's hurt. Did you find an emergency vet?" He grabbed the folded blanket from the trunk now that he could reach it.

"I couldn't find one, but I called Meka and told him where we are. He said to wait for dispatch? That they would call."

He couldn't help smiling a little. "You found Meka in my speed dial? You are a very smart little monkey. Tell dispatch to send the address to my phone. I'll be right back."

He took the blanket back to the dog and knelt quickly when he saw his eyes were closed. "Oh no you don't, you furry menace," he said, sighed to his toes when the dog cracked its eyes open again. "Don't do that to me right when my little girl is trying to find you a doctor."  He shook the blanket out. "All right, we're gonna get you onto this blanket and we'll take you to a vet. This is probably going to hurt, so please don't bite me. Neither of us wants to deal with rabies testing. All right? All right."

He winced when he eased the dog into the blanket, and again when it whimpered as he picked it up. He carried him around to the trunk and settled him carefully into the compartment. It started panting again as Grace peered around the side of her seat. "It's okay, doggie," she crooned softly to it, and reached back to pet his muzzle.

"Careful, Grace. He's hurt, and he might snap, okay? He won't mean it, but when an animal is hurt they don't know what to do sometimes." He closed the trunk and shoved his seat back into place.

Grace handed him the phone when he got back into the car. "They said the address was in the phone. It's a couple of miles away."  She turned back to watch the panting dog, and as soon as he had the phone guiding him back to the main road they were on their way.

He took turns carefully so as not to jostle the dog, and when he pulled up to the entrance he was surprised at the people who swarmed out to meet him.  "Detective Williams?" One of them called as he and Grace got out of the car. "Your dispatcher called and said you had an injured dog coming in?"  
  
"Yeah, he's in the back on a blanket. He seems alert enough, but he's not moving and I think he has an injured leg."

"All right, let's take a look at him."  They followed him around to the trunk, and the young woman unslung her stethoscope and stuck the earpieces inside. "Let's have a listen, sweetie," she crooned at him just as Grace had. The dog lay still as she touched the scope to his ribs and between his front legs. "Heart rate and respirations are a little high, but he's had a big day. Let's get him inside. Your dispatcher said he was hit by a car?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck; apparently Grace hadn't told them everything. "I, ah...I didn't even see him. He ran in the road after a cat and--"

The tech smiled at him. "You didn't leave him there. You're already one up on most people that hit a dog in the road. We'll check and see if he has an owner that might be looking for him."  She and the other tech lifted him gently with the blanket. "If you want to park and come inside? The doctor will assess the situation once we've scanned him for a chip and we'll see where to go from there."

Danny sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. Grace had come outside and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Is the dog gonna be okay?"

"We're going to do our best, honey. It's good your Daddy brought him in right away." She looked back at Danny. "We'll have an assessment for you in around fifteen minutes."

Danny hugged around her shoulders. "Let's get parked and get inside. I'll call your mom and tell her what's going on."

Rachael was more relieved that they were both okay than upset about the reason he was late dropping Grace off. "Do you want me to come get her?"

Danny looked at Grace, who was sitting on one of the waiting room chairs, watching the door and tearing a napkin into confetti. "Maybe you'd better. If it's bad news she's gonna want you. It hasn't been that long since Mickey, y'know?"

He knew that Rachael had loved Mickey too, but god, that dog had been with Danny through the divorce, and curled up with him long after his brother had finally stopped coming around. He should have left him with his folks instead of trying to bring him through the quarantine ordeal on Oahu.  He still remembered how the attendant had his leash and collar in his hand, and the _I'm-so-sorry after_ just five days.  He couldn't bear telling Grace that kind of news a second time.

"Of course, Danny. I'll come right down. Send me the address."

Rachael hadn't arrived yet when the inner doors opened and he and Grace both stood.

"Detective Williams?" The vet looked young, but older than the techs that had come out to take the dog inside. "I'm Doctor Kekoa. You're the one that brought the dog in?"

"That's me, that's...what can you tell us, Doc?"

The vet looked at Grace, back at him. "Perhaps we can talk over here?"

Danny squeezed Grace's shoulder. "Baby, I have to talk to the Doctor in private, all right? I'll be right back. Your mom's gonna be here soon, go ahead and wait for her."  He waited until she sat down and ached for her and her anxious eyes as she curled into the chair. He kept her in his peripheral vision as they moved away to talk.  "How's ah, how's he doing?"

"The dog is in stable condition. He has a fractured leg and a severely bruised hip, plus some bumps and scrapes from being thrown into the road. He needs surgery to set his leg, and he'll need cage rest, medication, and close supervision for a few weeks while he heals."  She sighed. "We examined him for a chip but it's been damaged. We can't get a reading from it. As of now, we're classifying him as a stray."

Danny nodded. "But he's stable? You can treat his injuries?"

"Detective, I know this may sound a little cold, but unless someone can assume the up front costs of his care, I'm afraid there's not much we can do if he's just going to go to a shelter."  She glanced behind him at where he knew Grace was waiting. "We can make it painless for him, and you can tell your little girl he didn't make it. I just wanted to check with you first."

Danny felt his ears, then his face, heat up at the memory of the dog's trusting brown eyes before he let the techs take him in. The idea of putting an otherwise healthy dog to sleep just to save a few bucks made him want to gag, and he forced his jaw to relax before he answered. "Doc, you are gonna fix him up." He reached back to his wallet and offered the doctor his one credit card. "I'll be back to take him home when he's ready to go."

"Detective, are you sure--"

"My apartment allows pets, you said yourself he's going to be fine if he gets medical care, and I am not..."  He pressed his fist to his lips. "I am _not_ going to go over there and lie to my little girl so she doesn't know that Daddy was too cheap to save an innocent dog."

This was crazy. He was going to be paying on this for years if he didn't go to a loan shark first.  "You fix him up. I'll deal with the rest when he's ready to come home."

Doctor Kekoa smiled. "I'll get started right away. Leave your contact information with the front desk. They'll take your deposit and they'll call you to let you know how he's doing and when he's ready to be released."

"Thank you. Thank you, Doctor.  I'll just...yeah. Go fix him up." He ran his hand through his hair and turned to see both Rachael and Grace looking at him, the former anxious and the latter fighting back tears.  He forced a smile past the impending debt and reached for Grace. "C'mere, baby."

He picked her up when she ran and jumped and carried her back to Rachael. "He's gonna be okay. He has a broken leg, but the doc is headed back there right now to fix him up."  He kissed her cheek. "He'll be up and around in no time."

Grace hugged him tight. "Are you gonna keep him, Danno?"

"Am I gonna keep him? Well, someone has to look after him once he's had his leg fixed, so it looks like I'll be taking care of him."

Grace hugged him again, and drew back to look at him with a very serious look.  "He needs you, and he can keep you company like Mickey did. It's not good for you to be alone all the time."

Danny glanced over her shoulder at Rachael and wondered how much of what she said was what she might have overheard.

"She worries about you," Rachael said, and her eyes softened in a way that suggested that Grace might not be the only one who worried.

"Well you don't need to worry about me, Monkey." He hefted her on his hip and kissed her cheek. "What I do want you to do is go home and think of a very good name for this pooch that's gonna keep me company. Can you do that for me? Soon as I get a good picture, I'll send it to you, and by the time he comes home he's gonna need a name."

Grace smiled. "Okay."

Danny passed her off to Rachael after he promised to either call or text an update about the surgery. _You and that dog will be the only ones who love me when I declare bankruptcy._

The girl at the front desk was very sweet, even when she told him the deposit to treat the dog was a thousand dollars. "We'll have an itemized list you can look at when he's ready to go home, and you can pay the remainder then."

Danny smiled back at her. "Thanks...listen. I, ah, wasn't planning on getting a dog when I was driving my daughter home. You wouldn't happen to have any basic supplies that are a little used, do you? I have a couple of bowls at home, and a leash and collar, but I don't have a crate. Since his treatment and meds are going to cost my entire available credit line, maybe you have a spare one around? Just so my daughter knows that he's safe and recovering."

He knew he was shamelessly exploiting what he knew she would have seen a few minutes ago, and didn't feel one ounce of remorse. _A thousand dollars. To START_.  But he did feel good when she looked around and leaned in.  "I'll see what I can find for you."

"Thank you. Thank you. You're an angel from heaven."

 

* * *

_Two Days Later:_

Grace held the door open and he carried the dog inside.  "Okay, pooch. I hope you're ready to live small...thank you, Monkey, here we go."  
  
He knew that the last person he expected to judge him on his living space was a damned stray dog, but he still felt embarrassed at the distinct lack of floor space for everyone involved. The large dog crate against the wall left just enough room for him to pull out the couch and still sleep in a bed, and maybe reach the bathroom if he swung his legs around the side just right.  The dingy walls only added to the shadows, the only bright spot a picture of Grace on the tiny table that served as his work space and dining table. 

Even working as a cop and doing his security gig twice a week, this was what he could afford. At least after Rachael remarried they'd reworked the child support amount, or he would have been in a goddamned tent on the beach.

"Go ahead and open the crate. He needs to rest there for the next five days so his leg has a chance to get better." Danny set him down and nudged him inside so he could get settled.  "There you go big guy. There's a water bottle here, and I'll give you some food and your meds in a couple hours." Grace remained at the crate as the dog sniffed at her fingers and licked them softly.  "Did you pick a name yet?"

"Yes." She pointed at his black nose. "You're going to be Patches. Because of all the black patches on your fur."

Patches seemed ambivalent to his new name, and licked at the water bottle a few times before settling on the pad with a sigh. _Me too, big guy._

"So what do you think, sweetie? You think he's gonna like it here?" Danny beckoned to her and she joined him on the couch. She snuggled in and they both looked at the dog watching both of them.

"I think so.  Once you can take him on walks it'll be good.  And he can watch movies with us, and go to the beach when I come visit."  Grace smiled up at him. "Thanks for adopting him, Danno. I know you'll love him and give him a good home."

Danny smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. "Here's hoping, kid.  He's still got a long way to go to get better. Hopefully when he's up and around he doesn't decide this couch is delicious and his favorite bathroom is my pillow."

Grace laughed and snuggled in a little more. "He'll be good for you.  Just like Mickey was."

"Oh, kiddo, you didn't meet Mickey when he was a puppy.  He drove me nuts and he went through three pairs of sneakers until I found a brand that he would leave alone. Can you believe that? A brand-conscious dog, had to buy the most expensive sneakers I could find and coat his chew bones in chicken broth until they were more appealing than my Adidas."

He loved hearing her laugh.  "But this one's all grown up! He doesn't chew anymore."

"He could still be a brand-hound for all I know.  You should ask your mom to pick up some designer chew bones for his possibly expensive tastes.  Maybe he only likes imported leather for his leashes instead of Mickey's old leash and collar."

She sat up with a gasp. "You need to get him licensed, Danno. People need to know he's yours so nobody tries to take him."

Danny didn't even think about the dog possibly having previous owners. The vet said they found a chip in him, but it had been too damaged to get any information.  Maybe if he put up flyers and did some internet postings, he could get him back to his people and not running after cats into the road again.

He looked at the dog and stroked Grace's hair. Or maybe he had a new dog, one that could be a friend to him between his job and his daughter, and help him carve out a little piece of this pineapple-infested hell hole for himself.  The only person he knew right now that didn't call him _haole_ was Mary McGarrett, and he only knew her because he investigated her father's murder and they'd become friends.

He'd find something. Until then, he had an injured dog to nurse back to health and a daughter who loved him. For now, that would be enough.

"What do you wanna do today, Monkey? I picked up a new puzzle if you want, so we could work on it and keep an eye on Patches on his first day in civilization."  He loved working on puzzles with Grace. It was something quiet, where he could watch her and take her in, notice all the little things about her that he missed the other fourteen days he didn't see her. It helped as well that puzzles were cheap, and new ones usually took enough time that he could afford to buy another one before their current one was done.

"Okay!"

"Okay then. Let's clear off the table and we'll get started."  He'd bought a puzzle with a dog on it this time, in honor of his new commitment. Maybe they'd get it done by the time Patches got his cast off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I was able to get to Danny's POV!


	6. A Dog's Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve wakes up to unexpected surroundings.

Steve opened his eyes with a low groan to the feel of someone leaning on his side and a high-pitched sound in his ears.  He lifted his head to get the sun out of his eyes and realized the noise he heard was someone was singing to him.

He turned to see a little girl reading a book. The scent of her hand lotion irritated his nose, but her voice was nice as she sang softly to him, her head pillowed on his side.  Was he in the hospital? Was he...wait.

He looked down at his hands--no. No, they were paws. _Shit shit shit what the fuck was happening?_

The program. Canine integration. He was still in the bond but what the FUCK.  Why was he in a house? With a kid?

She shifted when he did and smiled at him. "You want to go out, Patches? You need to potty?"

Patches? Who the fuck was Patches?  He rolled to his feet...

Or at least tried to, but fell back to the bed with a yelp and his left hind leg throbbed in pain.  The girl sat up as he whipped around to sniff at the stiff fiberglass that encased his leg from paw to hip. He whined and looked around the tiny bedroom.

"It's okay, we'll get you outside. Are you stiff from lying here for so long?" She scrambled off the bed and reached for him, pulling his front legs slowly until his paws were on the floor. "Okay, now the back ones. C'mon, Patches." 

He moved forward, the casted leg moving stiffly, with another flash of pain when it thumped on the floor. He tottered out of the tiny room and followed the girl through the equally tiny living room, hoping for any sign of a parent. Thankfully there was; the man sleeping on the couch woke up when they headed towards the door. "Where you headed, Monkey?"

"Patches is acting weird. I'm taking him out to do his business."

Steve watched the man as he sat up on the couch. If it wasn't for his injury, he could make a break for it, get back to Pearl and get this shit straightened out. Why wasn't anyone bringing him out of the bond? How long had he been unconscious? And why did this man look familiar?

"Just don't go too far."

The girl clipped a leash to his collar and led him outside. Reflexively he kept a loose lead between them as she took him to a rank-smelling patch of grass. _Ugh_. This must be where he'd been 'potty-ing' for however long he'd been out and Ten had been in the forefront of the bond. He could feel him back there now, happy to be with The Petting Girl.

"Okay, go potty. Good boy."

He made an effort to sniff, even though the acrid yellow-green stung his nose, and found a spot where it smelled the weakest.  He pulled back into the bond to let Ten take over when it came to Doing Their Business; he'd never been this long in the bond where it had been necessary, so...

"Good boy! You didn't get any on your cast!"  She petted him again and kissed his nose. Before he could reassert himself in the bond Ten leaned up and kissed her chin in return.  _Cute kid._ Was he her pet now?

He followed her back to her house and, presumably, her father, who had been watching from the apartment door. "How'd he do?"

"Great! He's getting better at not messing on his cast."

Getting better. So he _had_ been here a while.

"That's a good pooch," the man said, and ruffled his ears. "You're one up on the drunks I usually chase off the construction site."

"Daddy!"

"I'm sorry. That was mean. But it's time to get you home to your mom."

Steve almost stumbled as the girl threw her arms around him. "Just another hour, Danno? Please?"

"I'm sorry, honey, not this time. Your mom said you had a project to work on for school and all the stuff you need is at home."  He squeezed her shoulder when she made a disappointed sound. "But think, the next time you see him, his cast'll be off and you two can go for a real walk."

"Really? Can we take him to Waikiki Beach?"

"If he's up for it, we can take him on a short trip where he can stretch that leg."  The man ruffled his ears again. "Go get your shoes and your backpack and he can ride with us on the way back to Mom's, okay?"

"Okay! C'mon, Patches! Help me find my shoes!"

Steve looked around reflexively, and spotted one of them in the living room. He picked it up and carried it to the little half-bedroom, the memory of Pam's happy voice and her enthusiastic hug driving him to nudge it at her hand.

"Good boy!" She giggled and leaned to kiss his nose. "You're so smart."

He leaned up on his own to kiss her cheek again, and she whispered to him, suddenly serious. "You watch over Danno. Remember, when I'm not here, you have to look out for him."

He glanced out to the living room, and then back at her. "That's right," she said. "You make him happy. I see it when he doesn't think I'm watching. He needs that." She looked into his eyes and leaned down to touch her forehead to his. She smelled like...something sweet. Maybe berries, her scent yellow-warm and pleasant. "You make me happy too, Patches. I'm sorry Danno hit you with the car, but I'm glad you're here with us now."

Jesus, was that what happened? He couldn't remember anything besides going on a second practice outing with the team. The dog's mind was no help; he was just happy to be with The Petting Girl, who had shouldered her backpack and carried her shoes out to the living room. He followed her as best he could where her father was waiting for both of them and, when he came into the room, looked at him with something more than a casual fond glance.

"Patches helped you find your shoes all right?"

"Yes, Danno. I'm getting them on, see?" She waved the one he'd brought her and slipped it on.  "Once Patches gets his cast off, will you take him to work with you?"

"I don't know if the HPD will let me, but he can keep me company on nights at the construction site."

Steve looked at the man again. _HPD. He's a cop, but..._

And he remembered, whining softly at the remembered grief. _Dad-murder-investigation_. That was it! This was the cop who'd been on the case, who helped track down the man who shot him. He'd remember his name in a minute.

"See? Patches wants to go with you for work."

The man smiled and picked up her backpack. "I'll see if the boss will let me bring him if I'm on desk duty."

"Can Miss Mary still come to watch him this week?"

"She said she would, and I get reports from her that he loves naps and someone petting his ears. Right pooch? You like the ear petting?"  
  
The man reached down and stroked his ear softly. Steve half-closed his eyes before he even knew how to react; it _did_ feel good. "C'mon, big guy. Let's take Gracie home."

Steve enjoyed the car ride, tipping his nose into the wind and smelling so many scents it all rolled into a green-brown-blue swirl that reminded him of the search and rescue exercises he'd done with the team.

He had to get back to them; they were the ones who could answer all his questions. What happened to him? Had the accident and the trauma harmed his human body somehow? He had no idea how long he'd been away from his body. Certainly long enough to get the dog medical treatment and be adopted into a family somehow. Long enough that the cast was coming off in a few days.

A few days. He could make a break for it in a few days.

The man pulled the car into a gated driveway and Grace unbuckled her seat belt, reaching back to pet his ears and smile at him. "Be good, Patches. And remember what we talked about."

She'd understand. She'd have to understand that this wasn't where he was supposed to be. But her eyes were so serious and she leaned in to kiss his wet nose once more before she got out of the car. She hugged her father tight as a woman came out of the house to greet them.

"Danny," she called as Grace ran up to her and hugged her as well. _Danny....Williams! Detective Williams._ That was his name.  The woman offered him an envelope.

He thumbed open the envelope and looked inside. "What's this for?"

The woman looked over at the car and smiled when she saw him in the back seat. "It's for him...for his care. Grace hasn't stopped talking about Patches since the accident, and I know you never bargained for emergency veterinary care as part of our custody arrangement." She held up her hand as he opened his mouth. "Please take it. You know how sorry I was about Mickey when--well. Please. I know that will help him, and ease your mind as well."

Danny closed the envelope and tucked it into his pocket. "Thanks, Rache."  He looked back at him with that same searching look he'd had when he and Grace had come out of the bedroom. "See you tomorrow to take her to school?"

"Of course."

Danny got back in the car and glanced at him in the rear view mirror. "You okay back there, buddy? Looks like someone out there likes you an awful lot." He smiled. "Me too. But don't tell them that. It's cute when Grace tries to talk me into keeping you every time she's over."

He kept talking as he swung the car back onto the road. "She's my life, pooch. She's the reason I breathe and she's growing up so fast and I don't want to miss a minute of it worrying about making ends meet in this tourist-infested pineapple hell. I don't know how you liked living out in the forest where we found you, but I guess dogs don't worry about those things."  
  
He reached back to pet him at a red light, and Steve nosed at his hand. _Trust me. I'm worried._

"But now you have us, okay? Me and Grace, we'll take good care of you, and if you play your cards right, you'll get half a beer on game days. Mickey, the one whose collar you're wearing? He used to like our football day beer. And maybe you and me can start our own thing."  He looked in the rear view when traffic started moving again. "Like how you knew Gracie was looking for her shoes today. Think we can work on that this week?"

Steve laid his head down on the back seat, watching him. Maybe, maybe he could trust him, but maybe it would be better to play the dumb dog just so Danny dropped his guard...

"Who'm I kidding, fuzzbutt? Someone probably taught you 'shoes' or something, right? Hopefully someone who isn't looking for you right now, because I think it'd break Grace's heart if you had a family come take you back."

That was a good question. Why wasn't the team looking for Ten? It would have been easy to stage a canvass, put up lost dog posters and Pam could pretend to be his tearful owner who'd lost him in the woods however many weeks ago. So why hadn't he been found? How long would he last if he stayed separated from his human body?  He let out a groaning sigh and didn't listen to whatever Danny was saying as they drove back to his tiny apartment.

 

* * *

 

Finn startled at the _beep_ of the monitor. He glanced over, blinked, and grinned. "Doctor Amadi! It's McGarrett!"

"What?"

"McGarrett's brain activity got a spike."

"No shit?" Amadi leaned in behind him, close enough for Finn to smell the mustard from his sandwich. "A month of coma and now we get a blip? How does that happen?"

"Get Cranston back here and let's go check on him. We'll run some tests and try to bring him out."

 

* * *

 

 

"Patches!"

Steve wagged his tail and limped up to Grace, tucking his head under her chin when she dropped to her knees to hug him.  He kissed her chin; he liked her warm-bright yellow scent.

"You look so pretty without the cast on!" she said as she kissed his nose and stood back up.

"It's still a little slow going, but he's getting there," Danny said. "He's been making the rounds at the construction site with me, haven't you, fuzzbutt?"

Steve snorted and rolled his eyes, but let it go; the nickname was growing on him.

"Danno, he still needs rest too." She took his leash and pushed her seat up to let him get in. It was easier without the cast to hop into the car, and he settled with a grunt on the soft blanket as Grace buckled in.

"He can get rest while we watch a movie, Monkey. I got a couple of them. I got one with owls, and I got a couple of fun dog ones. Who knows, maybe he'll like 'em too, right?"  Danny started the car and nosed it back into traffic

Steve put his head down, content to drowse while the two of them talked. He stretched his leg and spread his toes, wincing at the twinges but glad they were better than yesterday. Another week, maybe. Then he could try to make the run. Until then he could play the dumb dog well enough, and he'd even faked enough of a food issue that Danny had started feeding him chicken and rice instead of the kibble.

It had been more than easy to vomit that kibble shit back up. Twice on his bed was enough for him to get the message.

Soon he recognized the smells of home, especially the puke-green smell of mildew that never truly left Danny's apartment building.  Grace got him out of the car and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Go slow, Patches. You're still recovering."

Steve limped along with her, leg still weak, but putting weight on it was getting easier by the day. Danny opened the door for both of them. "Why don't you get him settled on the couch and I'll start the Williams Family Popcorn."  He smiled. "And if he minds his manners and takes the last of his antibiotics, he can have a few bites."

Grace led him to the couch where his blanket already lay. He jumped up and settled once more in the soft nest he'd made in the past few days. Grace curled up with him, her head resting on his side, as she'd been when he first woke up from his injuries.  
  
He turned and nuzzled at her cheek. He hoped she would be okay when he left.

He took the cheese-wrapped pill with little fuss (he knew he needed the medicine, after all), and was rewarded with a few pieces of the garlicky buttery popcorn while the movies played. He watched the owl movie, but after Grace took him out to relieve himself he was still drowsy, a side effect of the medication. He napped on and off while Grace and Danny did another puzzle.

"Is he supposed to sleep this much, Danno?" she asked. "Are you sure he's not getting sick?"

"He's doing just fine. The doctor said he'd be extra sleepy while he was taking the pills. And after today, he officially has a clean bill of health."  He smiled at her. "If you want, we can take him to one of the quieter beaches and give him a good walk. He needs to get his strength back in that leg so it doesn't keep hurting."

She looked down at the puzzle, lower lip pouted out

"Hey." Danny reached over and touched her chin. "What's on your mind?"

"You said the doctor found a chip but it was broken." Steve saw her eyes welled with tears when she looked up.  "What if someone's looking for him, Danno? We found him, we took care of him, and we don't let him run in the road. He's _our_ dog now, isn't he?" Finally, the tears spilled. "I don't want him to go!"

"Hey, hey hey, baby, c'mere."  Danny gathered her in and hugged her, letting her cry into his t-shirt. "I don't want him to go away either, so you know what I've been doing?" He kissed the top of her head. "I've been checking the newspapers and Craigslist for anyone who's posted about a lost dog. I've been calling around to veterinarians and animal shelters and sent them pictures of Patches' very distinctive mug, and nobody recognizes him. You know what that means?"

She looked up at Danny, and Steve sat up too, shifting until he was leaning in with Grace.

Danny laughed and ruffled his neck and shoulders. "Well _that_ means that he's decided to keep us, but what I found out means that he doesn't belong to anyone, so if you're double extra sure you can put up with all these kisses and hair everywhere--"

"We can keep him!"  Grace hugged Danny, then hugged him tight around the neck and whispered in his ear. "You're gonna love it here!"

Steve leaned into Grace even as his heart sank; nobody was looking for him? The team hadn't posted flyers or called shelters or veterinarians?  Did the accident...the chip was damaged, Danny said. Did they think the dog was dead? Wouldn't they want to recover the body? Or at least recover the implant?

What had happened to _his_ body? Was it even still alive?

"This is big news, Monkey, and do you know what big news needs?"

"Ice cream?"

"Ice cream! Go get us some bowls and spoons, it's mint chocolate chip time."

Steve went back to the couch. He could be lying. He might not have been checking everywhere, but if he had...hell, the team could have asked the local media to help find a serviceman's beloved dog before he deployed and it would have been all over the news. He jumped up and shoved his head under the blanket, huffing a long sigh and a soft whine at the end of it.

Should he even try to get back to the team? What if he made it back and found out his human body was dead? The Navy would never let him go. They would...the things that came to mind made him curl up a little tighter. If nobody was looking for him, was it better for him stay free, with a family who cared for him and obviously loved him? He sighed again as they came out of the kitchen. He had until his leg was better to figure it out.


	7. Recognition and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A walk on the beach is so much more than sand and surf.

"Hey, brah, good to see you again."

Danny and Steve stopped when the shaggy-haired surfer greeted them on the sand. "Excuse me?"

"The dog, man. He used to be a beach bum. Mooched sandwiches from the tourists and stuff. We looked out for him when we'd see him."

Ten recognized the man's voice; Steve wagged his tail, and kept half an eye on Grace as she played in the surf.

"Did you know if he had an owner?"  
  
"Nah. He just hung out on the beach. The waves call more than just surfers."  The young man reached down and scruffled his ears, leaving his head a little damp. "Glad you found a home, cuz."  
  
Danny smiled, and waved to the nameless surfer as he jogged back towards the water.  "Guess you're here for keeps, pooch."  
  
Steve remembered what Cranston had told him a lifetime ago, about how Ten had been a beach dog, and that it made him stand out among the bond candidates.  When he thought about that meeting now, the memory of his own body seemed tall and strange, but he remembered how good it had felt being petted during that first bond. He loved the way Danny and Grace petted him too.

He shook himself to calm the shiver that washed over him, worried despite himself. It had been two weeks; his leg was strong enough. He _should_ make a break for it soon if he ever wanted to find out what happened. If his body was still alive, how long would it stay alive with his consciousness so far away? If his body was dead, how long could he hang on to his own mind? Ten had settled comfortably in the back of his head to let him drive for now, but would he wake up one morning and have to fight for control of the body they shared?

And yet every time he thought about running, he remembered Grace's touch and how she told him that she needed him to be there for Danny. He remembered Danny's voice, and how he would pet him and talk to him about the cases he worked on, or shared memories of Mickey and occasionally kissed the top of his head before he went to work, and how safe he felt sleeping on Danny's bed.

Grace was back. He forgot about it for the moment as she knelt and kissed his nose.

"Are you enjoying the beach?" she asked as she petted him with her wet hands. He licked at Grace's fingers; he loved making her laugh, but this time as he snuffled at her, she smelled...off. There was the smallest green tang to her warm-yellow scent, and she giggled as he snuffed at her to find the source of it.

There it was, a sweet-wrong scent to her breath.  Was she getting sick?

"Patches met a buddy of his today, Monkey."  
  
"Who does he know on the beach?"

Danny smiled at both of them. "Well, the surfer told me that he was a stray that lived on the beach before he came to us." He tugged one of Grace's pigtails. "You know what that means?"

She nodded, and wrapped her arms around his neck to squeeze. "That means you're ours!"

"That's right, sweetie. No owner to come looking for him. Guess he's stuck with us for the long haul."  Danny leaned down to pet him too. "Maybe we can get you eating regular dog food sometime?"

Steve snorted and shook his head. _Kibble is for dogs who don't know what good food is._

Grace laughed at him. "Sometimes I think he knows what we're saying," she said. "Can you understand us, Patches?"

Steve dug at the sand between them rather than make any indication that he understood, and Danny chuckled.  "I don't think he's a superdog, but how about we walk over to the shave-ice place you like. That should be enough for fuzzbutt's leg today."

Steve watched her as they set off down the beach.  Whenever she yawned, he nudged at her hand until she petted him and smiled again.  By the time they got to the shave-ice stand, however, she sat down and put her head on the table. Steve put his paws on the bench and nose softly at her hair.

"You okay, Gracie?"

When she lifted her head, the sweet-wrong smell was a little stronger. "My throat hurts, Danno. Can you get me a pineapple shave-ice?"

Danny looked at her a little more sharply, and touched the back of his hand to her forehead. "You feeling a little fuzzy today?"

"A little bit."

"Okay, then I'm gonna get you a shave-ice, and you and Patches will wait here until I bring the car for you, okay? We'll get you home and you can rest a little, see how you feel. You shouldn't be in the sun if you're getting sick."

He came back with her shave-ice in a few minutes, and then looked at him. "Patches, you watch her. I'll be back with the car as soon as I can." 

Steve looked at him and nudged at Grace's arm again while she started slowly eating her shave-ice. "Good boy. I'll be right back."

Steve stayed close to Grace, watching her pick more slowly at the treat she usually ate until she had brain freeze. The smell was getting slowly stronger, and so was his worry. At least Danny would be back with the car soon, and they could get her settled in bed--

"Steve?"

He whipped his head around at the soft sound of his name, and he froze as he saw who called it. _Pam!_   The wind carried her spring-green scent to him and got his tail wagging before he could think about it. It was Pam, and she seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see her, and she would take him back to Pearl and everything would be all right again--

But Grace…he looked at Grace again, who had put her head back down and was making soft, distressed sounds.

"Is that you, big guy?" 

PAM!

But Grace...

If Pam touched him he was as good as caught, and Grace would be all alone.

He whined, and hoped she would understand.

He lowered his head and growled at Pam, and she pulled up sharply from her approach. "Hey, it's me. You remember--"

He barked, lips peeling back from his teeth as he stood between Grace and the woman who could tell him what happened to him, if he was even still alive.  He saw her surprise, and then her caution as he barked even louder.  She held both her hands up and tried to call to him again.

And then Danny was there, his steps fast on the sand as he ran up on the scene. "Ma'am, step away from my daughter right now."

Pam kept her distance, looking between Danny and Steve. "I'm so sorry, sir. I just...I thought I knew the dog."

"I don't care if you thought he was your long-lost puppy, lady, just step back. My daughter is sick and I'm taking her home."  He gathered her up into his arms, and she didn't protest.  "C'mon, Patches. Good boy."

Steve whined and hesitated, looking from Pam to Danny and back again. Grace would be okay now, but...

"Sir, that dog--"

"Patches, come! You stay right there, ma'am and we'll be on our way."

With a soft whine, he turned away from Pam and followed Danny. There would be a better time to do this. There had to be, and maybe Pam would let the team and Building F know that he was alive and his body worth keeping around a little longer.

He hopped into the car and settled himself next to Grace as Danny strapped her into her car seat, and he kept his head in her lap as that sweet-wrong smell thickened in the air.  She petted him softly until she fell asleep on the short ride back from the beach.

She needed him. He had to stay. If Pam went back to the team and told them that it's hopeless. That Steve was gone and the only thing left was the dog, pull the plug...

He whined again, and licked Grace's hand as she slept.  It had to be okay.

Danny carried her inside and in a few minutes he had her changed into her pajamas and tucked into bed.  He touched his hand to her forehead again, and the way his face changed told Steve that she probably had a fever.  "I'll be right back with some medicine, Monkey. You rest. Patches will keep you safe."  He looked at Patches. "Thanks for protecting her back there, big guy. You keep it up while I go get some Tylenol."

Steve snuffed at Grace's forehead, hating the smell that came off her in soft waves.  After Danny left, he heard her moan softly. He looked around and pulled the dish towel down from the rack, nosing it into his water dish until it was soaked with the cool water.  He carried it drippingly back to her room and reared up on his hind legs to lay it as best he could across her forehead. He then crawled into bed with her and settled where she could reach him if she needed him.

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but he heard the key in the lock and soon Danny was back, tearing open a box of children's Tylenol. "Okay, I got the...what are you doing all wet, baby?" He pulled the towel off her forehead and went to get another pillowcase for her.

"Patches got it for me," she slurred, opening her eyes a little bit to take her medicine.

"Oh, the dog got it for you. I told you to stay in bed, sweetie, but I'll let it slide because you're not feeling good right now." He used the t-shirt she'd been wearing earlier to blot at her damp face and hair.  "You rest. We'll watch over you, and as long as you don't get any warmer, we'll get you to the doctor tomorrow, okay?" 

He leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Danno loves you," he whispered against her skin. "Happy dreams."  He looked at the damp towel again, then at him, then at the towel.  "C'mon, pooch. Let's let her sleep."

Steve followed him out into the living room, watching until Danny looked at the empty towel rod in the kitchen, and the splashes of water all around his water dish.  Danny looked at him again. "Grace would have used the sink, right? Even if she had a fever, she might have used the sink. Right?"

Steve did his best to meet his gaze with his dumb-dog expression, but it was easier just to go back to Grace's room and settle on the floor next to her bed, where he would smell if she was in distress.  He looked back at the door to see Danny still watching him.  "We're not done here," he whispered to him, then headed back out into the living room.

 

* * *

 

"I need to speak to Commander Heatherly right now."

"May I tell him who's calling?"

"My name is Pam Sawyer. I'm a civilian contractor who worked in Building F with the Commander's team. I need to speak to him, or to Daniel Cranston right now."

There was a long pause. _Good. They know that this is serious._

"Ma'am, I'm putting you through to Cranston in Building F."  
  
"Thank you."

She waited for two rings, and then heard his voice. "Pam?"

"Cranston. He's alive."  
  
"What? Who do you mean?"

"I can't tell you over the open line. Can you meet me at the main gate? They canceled my clearance when they let me go."

"I'll send Finn to come sign you in."

It took another five long minutes until a jeep came roaring up to the main gate. After a minute's conference with the gate guard, he waved her in and she swung into the passenger seat. Finn took a look at her face and said nothing until they reached Building F. "We need to get everyone in on this."

"Cranston's already in the conference room. Amadi and Arbagast should be there by the time we--here we are."

Once the door shut, she could finally speak freely. "Do we still have Commander McGarrett on site?"

Cranston nodded. "We do. He's still comatose, bordering on a vegetative state since we lost contact with the dog."  

Amadi flipped some papers on his clipboard. "He had a spike in brain activity a couple weeks ago but we couldn't bring him out."

Pam let out a sigh. _Thank God._ "The dog's alive. And I think McGarrett is too. I saw him at the beach today."  
  
"What?" All of them sat up a little straighter, and Commander Heatherly leaned forward. "Tell us what you saw."

"He was with a little girl who had a hold of his leash. He didn't seem in distress, but." She tapped the table for emphasis. "He looked around when I called his name. His _human_ name."

"Why didn't you secure him then?" Finn asked the question while Amadi made notes.

"When I approached him he started barking at me. He was clearly agitated, and I wasn't about to take a dog away from a little girl in public." She held up a forestalling hand when the Commander frowned. "Need I remind you that civvies don't look too kindly on dog theft, and I don't have any standing to secure him. Anyway, the girl's father showed up soon after that and told me to stay back."

"Did he show any other signs of recognition? What was he doing with them?"

"That's the thing, they were treating him like a pet. The man called him Patches, and he went with them as they left the beach." She shook her head. "It doesn't make sense, but he answered to his real name. He's in there somewhere."

"Maybe something happened to damage the connection?" Cranston shook his head too. "Did he seem injured or anything?"

"Perfectly healthy." She looked from one to the other. "I'd like to be reinstated to make contact with his new owner."

Arbagast looked up from his notes. "Did you get a picture of him? Finn, let's work on finding this guy."

"No need." She pulled out a sheet of paper and slid it over to Finn. "I got his license plate when he drove away and called in a favor with a P.I. friend. His name is Detective Danny Williams of the Honolulu Police Department, also employed by Diamond Head Construction Company. He's going to need to know why we're taking his dog."

"We can backstop something," Amadi said with a wave of his hand. "He's a research dog. Infectious disease or something."  
  
"Can't." Cranston said. "He's a detective. He'll know if the CDC or the Navy were looking for a research dog."

"That's where I can help, if I can borrow you." She nodded to Cranston. "We can approach them as the dog's owners. We lost him weeks ago, checked all the shelters, and when I told my husband that I saw him on the beach today I knew it was our dog."

Arbagast looked at the two of them, and Pam knew her plan was a good one, and more likely to appeal to a family man like Detective Williams.  Someone else coming forward and claiming the dog as their beloved pet, especially when Steve felt safe enough to come back with them.  "We can do this, Doc. We need to get him back to his own body." And didn't _that_ sound weird enough to say?

Finn and Amadi nodded. "It could work," Finn said. "And she's already done the research on Williams and made first contact."

Arbagast sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "We'll get your clearance straightened out again, Pam. We'll make contact in forty-eight hours."

"What happens if Williams won't relinquish the dog?" Amadi looked at the rest of them, and even Pam had to admit that was a concern.

Arbagast shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, I suppose. Let's get started."

 

* * *

 

Grace had been to the doctor, he'd given her the first dose of antibiotics, and she was resting more comfortably in bed for the afternoon. Patches had stayed with her when she'd been restless and feverish through the night, and refused to be left at home when he'd taken her to the doctor.

With that worry out of the way, his thoughts turned toward the other dilemma in the house: the slowly growing elephant in the room that looked just like his uncannily smart dog.  He'd picked up something else on the way home, and he let Patches stay with Grace while he slowly pulled the pages out of the alphabet book.

Too many things were starting to add up to _something_ up with this stray dog who'd come into their lives and, even though he was likely setting himself up to look extremely stupid, he had to try. Just to be sure.

He also wrote YES and NO on two other pieces of paper, and lay those in front of his feet.  _Here we go._ "Patches," he called, softly enough that it wouldn't wake Grace, but brought the dog trotting into the living room. He stopped, looked at all the pieces of paper spread out on the floor, then at him.

"Okay, fuzzbutt. I realize this is a little weird for you, but if this nutty idea I have in my head is right, trust me, it's weirder for me."  He sighed and patted his leg for him to come closer. "See, it started with Gracie's shoes, but Mary told me about how you found the remote when she thought she lost it, and things were already getting to that weird place. But then when Gracie got sick and I came home to see the kitchen towel on her head, I got to thinking. Either you were someone's assistance dog, which didn't jive given what surfer-boy told us yesterday, or there's something going on where you're _way_ smarter than you look. Like crazy smart. So."  He gestured to the letters and to the YES and NO pieces of paper. "I'm gonna ask you one time about this. You eat one of these pieces of paper, I'll mark myself in the crazy book and we'll move on with our lives.  Or you can tell me what's really going on. You clearly love my daughter, so you know I'll look out for you either way." He looked the dog in the eyes. "Are you smarter than your average dog?"

The dog regarded him, unmoving, for at least a half a minute, and Danny felt a rush and a chill at the same time as he came forward to paw at the YES paper. 

All of his breath went out in a _whoof_ and he pushed both hands into his hair. "Jesus..." Not only was he smarter than a dog, he could apparently _read_.  "Okay. Okay. Let's start narrowing this down. Is this some weird animal intelligence enhancement program that Homeland or someone  has been working on?

NO.

"Are you...some kind of what? Like a reincarnation or something?"

The dog snorted this time. NO.

"Don't give me lip. I'm trying to figure things out here."  He considered what it could possibly be. "Is this a military thing, whatever it is?"

The dog hesitated, then YES.

"Are you getting some communication from elsewhere?"

NO.

"Can someone track where you are?"

Hesitation, then a paw on both YES and NO.

"Maybe you had a tracker...that chip. The one that got busted when I hit you."

YES.

"So you're not a super smart dog?"

NO.

"Did you swap brains with a dog or something?"

YES and NO.

Danny sat back in the chair. "Are you a person?"

YES.

"But you're somehow like mind-melded with a dog?"  
  
Both paws pounced on YES.

"Why haven't you said so until now? This could have been handled so much sooner."

The dog looked around at the letters on the floor and touched the ones to spell out HURT DOG.

"Okay, so you were hurt. I'm sorry about that, by the way."  
  
The dog snorted and wagged his tail.  Danny readied his pen and paper as the dog spelled out NOT AWAKE WHEN HURT.

"So when you were hurt, the person part of you was knocked out for longer than the dog was."

YES.

"So...the shoe day was the first day you were really back with us."  
  
YES.

Danny shook his head.  "Christ. Nobody is going to believe this."

The dog picked out more letters. PEARL.

"Is the rest of this all at Pearl, then?"

YES.

"They're not gonna experiment on you, are they?"

YES and NO.  Then, MIND BACK TO BODY.

How the fuck was he supposed explain this to Grace? Or anyone?

"Why didn't you bug out the as soon as you were better? It's not like you were hurting for chances."

The dog glanced back to Grace's room. NEEDED ME.

Danny felt something give in his chest at the admission. _My girl does that to people._ "Now that we're on the level here, do you want me to take you back?"

MAYBE. He paused and pawed a few more letters. WHAT TELL GRACE?

Danny laughed, a little crazy giggle that made all of this seem ridiculous. "Pooch, I have no idea." Then he had a thought.  "What's your real name?"

The dog hesitated but spelled it out. STEVE MCGARRETT.

Danny sat up as if someone goosed him. "McGarrett? John McGarrett's son?" He laughed again, still too shocked to do much else. "You know your sister's been dog-sitting you, right?"

Steve-dog wagged his tail and pawed at YES.

"How is that not weird for you?"

Steve leaned in and nipped at the cuff of his jeans. "Hey!" He ruffled his ears. "I feel weird petting you now, and reconciling the idea of a grown man cuddling my daughter."

Steve snorted, paused, and tapped out more letters. GETTING BETTER. SICK SMELL GOING AWAY.

Danny smiled. "Thank you, Doctor Dog."  He went around the room and started picking up the papers with the letters. "We can't say anything to Grace about this yet. Once she's feeling better, the three of us can sit down and I'll try to explain."  On a hunch, he left the YES/NO papers where they were. "That woman at the beach yesterday. She said she thought she knew you. Does she know you?"

Steve whined softly and pawed at YES.

"Was she part of the thing at Pearl that...did this to you?"

YES.

Danny shook his head and looked at the dog. Looked at _Steve_. "Do you think she'll come around looking for you?"

YES.

"Probably with some lie about how you really are her long lost puppy or something?"

YES.

Danny sat down again, the stack of papers still in his hand. "And you need to get back there to find out what happened to you."

YES. And this time Steve settled to lie down, his expression so forlorn that he practically heard Sarah McLachlan in the background.

Danny leaned down to pet him, not feeling quite as weird about it anymore. The fact that he hadn't run away because of what Grace would feel spoke more loudly than anything right now. "Let me think about this, okay?  We can try to get you back there without anyone getting in trouble, I hope."

Steve sighed and pawed at YES one more time before Danny picked it back up.  He petted him again. "I gotta say, I kind of wish I'd hit the cat now. The cat would have croaked, Gracie would have cried a few days, and I would not have to tell her that the dog that we rescued is actually the Steve McGarrett that told her how he skipped biology so he wouldn't have to dissect a frog."

Steve snorted, but leaned into his hand.

"We'll figure it out. You go keep Grace company for a while and I'll make some soup. And maybe make you a burger."  He smiled at him. "I should have figured this out when you stopped eating dog food."

Steve stood up and nudged his hand, looking up at him.

Danny stroked his ear, the way he knew he liked regardless of who was behind those trusting eyes. "You're welcome, big guy. We'll get this sorted out."


	8. Negotiations and Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Navy comes to reclaim Steve.

Danny saw when Steve sniffed the air and whined softly. A moment later, the footsteps approached the apartment.

"Is this them?"

Steve thumped his tail on the couch, their signal for YES, and Danny took a deep breath before getting up and answering the door. He opened the door to see the woman that Steve had barked at on the beach. The earnestness on her face seemed genuine, but because he knew better he'd let this play out. "Can I help you?"

"Hi," she said. "My name is Pam Saunders. I apologize for tracking you down at your home, Detective, but I had to come and be sure that..." She looked around him and covered her mouth as her tears started. "Rex! Oh my god, I thought he was gone for good."

Danny looked at Steve, who was watching the exchange from the couch, fluffy tail wagging slowly. "Please come in." He glanced past her to the black SUV parked in the visitor's spot, a brown-haired man in the passenger seat. He stepped back to let her in, and she went to the dog and gave him a hug. Steve swiped his tongue out and kissed her cheek and chin, leaning into the embrace before she drew back to smile at Danny.

"I'm so glad someone found him. We've been looking for over a month and just lost hope." She sat down on the nearby chair and kept her eyes on the dog.

"I didn't see any flyers posted," Danny said. "I even checked Craigslist for two weeks hoping that someone would post a picture or something." He smiled at Steve. "He's a very distinctive dog."

Pam covered her mouth and appeared to choke up again. "My husband got him for us when he was a puppy. An engagement present. I just can't believe you found him."

"Your husband? Is that the one waiting in the car?"

Pam nodded. "My husband's disabled. We've been trying to train him as a service dog." She smiled. "He's helped my husband gain some independence as he's learned his behaviors. He's such a smart boy, aren't you, Rex?"

Steve wagged his tail YES. Danny tried not to laugh; this was a serious situation.

"He really is. My daughter is quite taken with him. After his recovery--did I mention his recovery? Just about a month ago he ran in front of my car while I was taking my daughter home. After we got him back on his feet, he's grown quite attached to her too. You saw that at the beach the other day."

Pam nodded. "I did see that, yes. I'm so sorry that...I'm so happy that you took him in, and I'll reimburse you for his care, and maybe we can work out an arrangement? Visitation? A way for your daughter to let go and understand that he already has a home and people who love him very much."

Danny sighed; time to wrap this up. "It's funny, though. This area only has a few vet clinics, there are only four shelters on the island, and I bet the media would have picked up on a lost service dog. His picture would have been all over the news." He spread his hands. "And yet nothing, for two months."

Pam's cordial expression started to fade. "Detective, I have documented proof that he's our dog. I'm trying to make this easy on your daughter, but if this becomes a legal matter--"  
  
"I'm sure you have a whole stack of paper proving he's yours, but before I agree to anything here, I have a couple of questions for you."

"Sir--"

"Or rather, _he_ has a question for you." He nodded to the dog. "Steve wants to know if his body is still alive. Right, big guy?"  
  
He thumped his tail twice on the couch. "That means yes." Danny smiled at her. "We've been having quite the conversation lately."

Pam's earnest expression changed in an instant and she turned to talk to Steve directly. "I knew you knew your name that day. Yes, you're still alive, and we need to get you back to Pearl right away." She looked back at Danny and stood up. "As you can see, Detective, this is now a matter of those with the clearance to be read in. We'll take it from here. Commander, if you'll come with me?"

"Whoa, slow your roll there, Pam. What happens now? You just breeze out of here and I never see you or him again?" Steve remained where he was. That was a comfort; even in the face of finding out what happened, he wanted to make sure they were okay.

"I suppose that will depend on the Navy, Detective. I'm sure you'll be getting a visit with some non-disclosure agreement that you'll be required to sign unless you want to face charges of violating National Security, and to keep Commander McGarrett for facing a court martial for the same." She looked at both of them. "I'm just a civilian contractor, but I know the hoops I had to jump through to get this assignment. Getting out of this without losing at least your job and at most your custody arrangement will be up to you."  
  
Steve barked once. "That means no," Danny said. "Not good enough."  
  
"No?"

Steve barked again and Danny smiled, reaching over to pet him. "Steve will come back with you, and cooperate with whatever you need him to, on the condition that nothing happens to me or my daughter. No non-disclosure agreements. No threats. We go our separate ways, and my daughter gets one last visit with the dog and you can feed _her_ the line of bullshit you tried to feed me so she knows he's going to a good home."

Steve wagged his tail YES.

"I can't guarantee that," she said. "And the longer we wait--"

"You didn't even know he was alive two days ago. It can wait until someone who _can_ guarantee it is here to put it in writing."  Danny smiled. "I'm sure your 'husband' who's probably listening to us right now can put things in motion." Steve walked across the couch and settled his front half across Danny's lap. "I guess we've all grown attached."

Pam looked at them both again. "Commander, they can order you back to Pearl. If I have to take this back to the Navy--"

"I think we both know how that'll go," Danny said. "Under this fuzzy face? There's still a SEAL in there, and he knows how to escape and evade pretty damned well, so long as he watches for cars this time."  He gestured to the small chair. "Feel free to stay. You can ask him anything you like while we wait for that agreement."

Pam stared, sighed, and sat down. "Commander, are you being held here against your will? One phone call and Cranston can have a team here to extract you."

Steve let out a soft 'boof'. NO.

"We really were worried for you. When the tracker went out and the readings spiked..." She scrubbed her hand through her short hair. "We thought the dog was dead."  She looked up at him. "The car accident...?"  
  
Danny nodded. "The vet said they found a chip, but it was damaged, and at that point I had decided to max out my only credit card to make sure my daughter didn't see the dog die."

She smiled, and this time it reached her eyes, and she went back to talking to the dog. "Commander, why didn't you try to get back to us right away?"

"I think I can answer that," Danny said. "See, when the dog was hurt, Steve kind of got knocked out for longer than the dog did. For the first two weeks he was with us, it was just the dog, who ate dog food, was house trained, and slept in my daughter's bed. Then it was...two weeks?"

Tail thump. YES.

"Two weeks before the Commander here came back to us. That's when my new dog stops eating dog food and helps my daughter find her shoes in the morning because she mentioned she'd misplaced them."  He ruffled Steve's ears. "Among other things. Including protecting my daughter from a stranger who got too close when she wasn't feeling well."  He rested his hand on Steve's furry shoulder. "That's the night I had my first talk with him."

Pam looked at Steve and shook her head. "You couldn't have played the dumb dog for that? Come back to Pearl on your own?"

NO.

"I asked him the same thing. His leg was better. He could have gone home on his own." Danny smiled. "He said he stayed for Grace. He didn't know if he had a body to go back to either, so it was safer to stay with the place he knew and with his own mind in a different shape."

YES. YES. YES.

Pam looked at Steve for a long moment. "We didn't know what to do. Your life signs are still steady, but they're starting to fade. They put the program on hiatus and let me go." She smiled. "They didn't need me training dogs for it anymore. Eight went to a breed rescue.  Nine lives with me now, by the way, and you'll be happy to know that he's really come out of his shell."

Danny arched his brow, curious. "Should I ask what happened to one through seven?"

"Need to know, Detective. Steve here was our biggest success story, until he took off." She looked at Steve again. "Why _did_ you take off?"

Steve looked down and away from her, and Danny had to chuckle. "He, ah...let's just say I swerved to miss the cat he was chasing and hit him. I'd maybe reconsider the success story thing. Hey!" He grabbed Steve by the muzzle when he mouthed at his wrist. "None of that, or it's back to Blue Buffalo, my friend."

Pam chuckled and shook her head in amazement. "He lets you do that? You do realize you're manhandling something with a human mind inside it."

"And until he can buy himself a burger, he knows that I control the food in this house, doesn't he?"  Danny gave Steve a gentle shove. "I don't think she's gonna grab you and run, big guy. And it looks like she missed you."

Steve jumped lightly down from the couch and approached her cautiously. She knelt down and reached for him with a smile. "C'mere?"

He moved in and, just as he had with Grace, tucked his head under her chin, tail thumping as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. "I did miss you," she whispered into his fur. "And I'm glad you're okay."  She pulled back enough to look into his eyes. "Is Ten in there with you?"

YES. YES. YES.

She laughed almost as she cried and hugged him again. "We're gonna get you back to Pearl and back into your own body. Doc Arbagast barely believed me when I came back and told them you were alive."

"I don't suppose, ah, once you get the Commander back where he's supposed to be that..." he gestured to the dog. "Ten there's probably still Navy property, right?"

Pam looked at him. "He's more than that, Detective. He's Steve's bond-partner. Trying to match him with another dog now could prove detrimental to both Steve and his partner."

Danny snorted. "Well, it beats a ten-foot-tall blue alien."

Pam barked out a surprise laugh. "Maybe I should tell the ones in charge to make that a training film."

"Steve," Danny called to the dog. "Can you give me and Pam a minute in here? I have one more question for her that I need to ask alone."

Steve looked back at him and gently backed out of Pam's arms.  "Go on."  He turned and trotted into the smaller room.

Pam looked at him, curious. "What do you want to know?"

Danny sighed. "If you really thought I was stupid enough to just sit here and wait while a team of armed Navy personnel got ready to storm my tiny apartment instead of bringing me an agreement to sign?"

Pam sat up straight and called, "Steve!"

"Already gone, lady. He's on his way somewhere safe, and he'll meet us in two days at the shave-ice stand where you ran into him, at which time my terms will be met and Steve will surrender himself back to your little experiment."

Pam pushed to her feet and brushed the dog hair from her jeans. "You're making a mistake, you know. Both of you. We only want to get him back to his own body."  
  
"And this just makes sure it's not at my expense, or my daughter's." Danny smiled with no humor behind it. "I'm glad that Steve's body is in good hands, and I'll see you in two days."  He stood up and walked to the door, gesturing for her to leave. "Unless you want to go out the window after him?"

Pam stalked to the door, shaking her head. "This could have been easier, Detective."

"Starting with the truth would have been easier. What you did made it easier for _you_." Danny opened the door for her and waved to the man in the truck. "See you soon."

He shut the door and slid down it, shoving his hands into his hair. What the hell was he doing? He should be running after that truck and promising anything to keep their names out of the whole thing...

He pulled the burner phone out of his pocket and texted Mary. _Message delivered. Two days. I'll be over soon. Keep fuzzbutt on ice._

He left his regular cell phone in his bedroom and left through the same window that Steve had used. He could get a cab and be gone before the surveillance web came down.

* * *

Dark.

Cold.

So many sounds. Beeping, the whoosh of air against his face that disappeared as _something_ was pulled away from his mouth.

"Life signs returning to normal parameters. He's back, gentlemen."

"Commander? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."  
  
Steve squeezed. Something was wrong with his ears.

"Fantastic. How about your eyes? Can you open your eyes?"

He opened his eyes carefully, the lights almost blinding him as he adjusted. A man smiled down at him. Good Hot Dog man...no. _Finn._ He huffed and blinked, sniffing at the air and barely getting Finn's scent even though he was right over him.

"Welcome back, Commander. We've been a little worried about you."

Why were the colors so BRIGHT? He looked around at the other people in the room. _Amadi. Doc Arbagast._ They both smiled at him but didn't reach out to pet him.

Finn reached close enough and he leaned up to sniff his hand; he huffed in frustration when only muted colors reached his brain. 

"Doc...? A little help here?"

Steve shifted, trying to get his legs under him, but stopped with a soft yelp at the twin flashes of pain from his back legs. Was he hurt again? What happened?

"Easy, Commander. You haven't used those legs in a couple months."

What the FUCK? He bared his teeth when they kept him from getting up, eyeing the Doc as he let him go.

"Commander, can you tell me your rank and service number?"

His throat worked but all that came out was a raspy whine.

"Can we get some water? Amadi?"

Soon a cup pressed into his hand. The Doc smiled. "Slow sips. You haven't said anything for a little while either."  
  
Steve sucked at the straw; the Doc sighed when he swallowed. "Are you back with us? Can you tell me your rank and service number?"

This time he was able to get it out, and he saw everyone else relax around him. He swallowed some more water and looked down at himself. Arms. Hands. Legs and feet. He was human again.  _Two months._ He'd been away from this body for two months.

He shivered as the air conditioner kicked on, brushing his hands up and down arms that felt alien. "Cold."

Finn draped a blanket over his shoulders. "Can you tell me who's President, Commander?"

He looked around, suddenly aware of the absence the other mind, the one whose simple emotions helped steady him through the past two months. "Where's Patches?"

"Patches?"

"It's what they named the dog," Amadi said to Finn. "He's in the next room, Commander."

He looked at the door. "I want to see him."

"In a minute, Steve." The Doc looked him over carefully. "Can you tell us who's President?"

"I'll tell you when you bring him in here."

All of them glanced at the heart monitor as his heart rate climbed, and the Doc nodded to Finn. "We're getting him right now, Steve. You can see him, but then we have to run some tests and see if we can't get you back on your feet." Steve looked up when he squeezed his hand. "Okay?"  
  
Steve relaxed when he heard a familiar scrabble of claws outside the door. "Okay." He smiled and shifted onto his side, heedless of the pain in his legs when Patches came in and bellied up to the bed. "Hey, partner," he rasped, still faltering on the right words but not needing them when Patches put his front paws on the bed and sniffed him over eagerly.  "Good boy." He closed his eyes and stroked his ears gently; he remembered loving that. "Good boy." For a few minutes, the whole world faded to just the two of them, and he savored it. "Good boy."

A hand squeezed his shoulder. "Steve, the vet's here to examine Patches. Why don't you let Dr. DeSouza do her thing and we can get these tests over with, okay?"

He tightened his fingers in Patches' fur and almost growled before he remembered he could use his words...and his self-control. He nodded and let Patches go with a sigh.  "You'll bring him back?"

The Doc nodded.  "Just as soon as our tests are done, I promise."

Steve gave Patches one last ear-ruffle and let Finn lead him back out. At least now the dog had a real name. The tricky part would be remembering his _own_ name. "What do you need me to do?"

"Let's let the others take some blood and do some basic physical tests and maybe a head CT, and then you and I can talk for a bit. We'll get you sitting up and start exercising your legs so you can get them under you again."

Steve looked at the door. "Patches stays with me while we talk."

The Doc nodded. "We can make that happen. I'm going to go see him now while the others do what they need to and I'll be back in a little while."  
  
Steve leaned up, wanting to follow him but settled back in the bed while Amadi came to take some blood and check his vitals. He could get through this.

The next few hours were a blur of physical and cognitive tests while he slowly readjusted to his human body and senses. He tried to focus harder on what he could see instead of what he smelled, he curled his fingers and wiggled his toes to reacquaint himself, and once the CT scan was complete they gave him some applesauce and half a chicken breast to eat ("You'll get the good stuff in a while. Your stomach hasn't had anything to digest in the past two months.").

He would do _anything_ they wanted just so they didn't have to catheterize him again. Even eat with utensils; he'd seen the way they paused when he reached for the chicken.

He was relieved for the quiet when they were finished. They'd let him put on civilian clothes instead of a hospital gown and Finn had helped him into the chair next to his bed and gave him some stretching exercises to strengthen his legs. The door looked about a hundred miles away and he tugged the blanket over his lap to keep himself warm. He leaned back in the chair and flexed his feet as he waited for...

Patches led the way in and made a beeline for Steve, whining and clambering up into his lap to curl under his chin. Steve buried his face in his shaggy neck and wrapped his arms around him. "Who's a good boy, huh?" He heard the Doc bring in another chair and ignored it for a few minutes until Patches settled between his feet with his head in his lap, content to sit there while Steve petted his ears.

"Well."  The Doc smiled at them both. "You two had quiet an adventure together."

Steve didn't stop petting the dog as he asked. "How are Danny and Grace? They're not in any trouble, right? That was the agreement."

"That was the agreement," Doc nodded. "Mister Williams has been warned against speaking to anyone about what happened. The terms 'fullest extent of the law' were mentioned, but that was the extent of the discussion."  He looked down at the dog. "He seems no worse for wear. How about you? Do you feel up to talking about your experiences?"

Steve kept his eyes on the dog. "I don't remember how I ended up with them. I only know what they told me. I assume Pam told you what happened."

"I heard about it, yes. Before then you'd only been in the bond a few hours at a time. After two months, this must seem...very disorienting."

Steve chuffed a laugh. "You don't even know. It's gonna be like learning to walk all over again." He chanced a look at the Doc, remembering that gentle smile from what seemed like forever ago. "I'm sorry I didn't come back right away."

"Mr. Williams was under the impression that you were pretty attached to him and his daughter."

"Grace. Yeah." Patches looked around at the sound of her name and Steve ruffled his ears lightly. "Yeah. We both were."

"Was that the only reason you stayed?"

Steve sighed and kept petting the dog. "I didn't know what happened. I didn't even know if my body was still alive." He looked up at the Doc. "If I'd come back to Pearl and my body had already died, my life would have been over. Even with you and Pam to advocate, this project is too confidential to risk me ever leaving the base or even Building F." He didn't need any confirmation to know that; the military didn't part with its property lightly.

"Could you really have been happy as someone's pet, Steve? With a dog's lifespan?"

Steve hadn't really thought about the reduced lifespan, but he did know one thing. "I liked it. When I was with them."

"What did you like about it?"

Steve gathered his words as best he could. "It was nice with them. After everything that happened before...my team. My dad. I don't know if it was the dog's mind or just."  He swallowed. "It was nice letting someone else be in charge. Being taken care of."

"You lost your father not that long ago. I can imagine it was hard to leave another family who took you in."

"Can I see them?" Steve looked up at the Doc. "Danny knows me, he worked my father's murder case." He went cold as the silence stretched between them. "Please. Come on, they're-"

"Maybe. We'll talk more about it in a week."

"Don't jerk me around on this. I don't want to be told another week, another week, until you and your team are taking me out to fuckin' Norfolk and I don't even get to say goodbye--"

Patches whined and put his front paws in his lap, and he leaned down to touch his forehead to the dog's until he could take a few deep breaths.  "Please, Doc."

He tensed when Arbagast squeezed his shoulder. "Nobody's saying that you can't. We just need to make sure--"  
  
"What? That I'm not gonna go AWOL the second you let me leave the base? Then keep him." He laid his hand on Patches' head. "Because you can be damned sure I'm not gonna leave him."

"Steve, how about we take things one day at a time right now. You haven't even been back for a day. We need to focus on you now, and how the extended time in the pair-bond affected you."

Steve sighed again, calming as he petted the dog. He didn't want to answer any more questions.  He didn't want to _talk_. He just wanted to--

"We'll get you walking again, and you can go back to your quarters. Re-acclimate yourself. How does that sound?"

Steve nodded. "He stays." He didn't care when the silence got awkward, and smiled at Patches. "That's a good boy. You can stay."

He wasn't going to let him go.


	9. Reconnecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve reconnects with the people who took care of him and works through some unexpected feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I incorporated a deleted scene from 5.07, so Steve and Grace have met but she hasn't seen him since that day.

Steve felt very, very tall as he got out of the cab; it had only been a week since he was back in his body, and he didn't trust himself behind the wheel yet. Walking on two legs still felt alien and he had to fight to keep his hands from twitching with each step. 

It felt good to be off the base, even if it meant leaving Patches with Pam. Being without the dog felt like something in him was stretched tight between him and Pearl Harbor. They may be able to keep him from going much farther, and they were insistent that any contact with Danny be postponed, but they couldn't keep him from seeing his sister.

He walked up the familiar drive again and smiled as Mary came out to hug him. "Steve!"

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, nose tucked in her hair and he resisted the urge to lick her cheek. "It's good to see you, Mare."

"It's good to see _you_ back on two legs," she said, and kissed his cheek when she drew back. And then she punched his arm.

"Hey!"

"Next time you call me before you volunteer for something that crazy again. If you were stuck in that dog for good and I never got to see you again? What would have happened then?"

Steve smiled to see the angry color high in her cheeks. "But you took such good care of me," he teased. "You fed me bacon and let me sleep on the couch and everything."

Mary snorted and pinched him lightly. "If I'd known you were in there I would have taken you to the groomers and have them shave you like a poodle." She folded her arms across her chest. "Don't do that again, okay? We're all we've got anymore, and if Danny hadn't come to me with your crazy story I wouldn't have known _anything_ if you didn't come home _._ "

 _Danny!_ "How is he? How is Grace? Are they doing okay?"

"Grace is coping. She really liked you, but she was happy to see that you were taking care of someone who needed your help."  She smiled. "And now she's trying to teach Mister Hoppy to walk on a leash.

"As for Danny?" she nodded towards the house, where a familiar face waited in the doorway. "See for yourself."

"Danny!" Steve kissed Mary's cheek again and headed for the front door. Just seeing him made him want to run and tackle him, just to be sure he was alive and all right. He settled for a strong hug and a quick sniff of his hair before he caught himself. "It's good to see you, man."  He only caught a hint of the way he smelled to the dog, and it frustrated him not to smell it all. He took another sniff and Danny laughed and pushed him back.

"Easy there, big guy. If I can keep from petting you, you can keep from smelling me."  Danny looked around. "Where's your furry friend?"

"He's with Pam," he said. "They can't keep me from leaving the base, but they can keep him as long as they want."  God, it was good to see him.  "I can't believe you're here."

"Yeah, well, when Mary called me and told me you'd been cleared for a visit, I figured I'd stop by." Danny clapped him on the shoulder, and it was all he could do to keep from hugging him again.

"All right, kids," Mary said from behind Steve. "There's coffee and breakfast getting cold inside. We cooked all your favorites."

Steve laughed and hugged Mary again as they all went inside. Everything smelled fantastic, and with the memory of how they smelled from the dog's point of view, his stomach grumbled with even more enthusiasm.

"It's amazing how well you started eating when it was people food," Danny teased as he poured the coffee. "I should have made you chicken and rice while _we_ had the real breakfast."

Steve bumped him with his shoulder, reminiscent of their time together. "Hey, who else gets to say to someone 'thanks for not taking me to a shelter'? Maybe I should have cooked for you two?"

It still felt weird, sitting at the table instead of at Danny's knee, but as food was dished out he forgot everything but how amazing bacon tasted when swirled in maple syrup, or how the rich smell of the coffee curled into his nose before he drank it. That was something that the dog had never really noticed other than vague salt-sweet and the pleasure of food.  He also felt a swell of warmth and happiness when he looked at them, and smiled when he caught them looking at him.

It was interesting how a new perspective could bring that kind of warmth. After his father's death, he felt adrift. He didn't have a team anymore, didn't have Freddy, and if they were going to put him on a new team it would have taken time to get the rapport he'd shared with his other fellow SEALS, even when they were supposed to be able to trust one another immediately. He'd volunteered for the program to be part of something again that didn't involve risking the lives of others. At the time, if something happened to the dog, he would be the only one upset or affected by it. He wouldn't have to deliver a dog's personal effects to his mother, or wife.  And if he'd stuck with the program, the bond may have been strong, but...

Because of what happened instead, now every time he looked at Danny as they chatted, all he wanted to do was lie down on the couch with him and listen to newspaper pages rustle and hear him go over case notes out loud to himself, sometimes to him if he'd had a beer or two.

And it sure didn't help that the lingering adoration he'd felt from the dog's mind seemed to pull at him the same way his attraction made him notice the easy way he held his coffee cup, his laugh as Danny told him how Mary had reacted to finding out she'd taken her brother for walkies, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

But what could he say, really? _Hey, being petted and taken care of by you made me fall in love with you a little and can we please cuddle?_

Easier to say nothing, keep the conversation light and just be happy that he could see him again instead of being confined to base.

He asked after Grace and was glad to hear she was doing well.

"She misses you. Well, the furry you. You're still the lock screen on her phone, and she's given me no less than four letters to send to your friend Cranston telling him what a good dog you were and please take good care of you."  Danny smiled, and it was easy to smile back at him. "I think when this all dies down I'm probably going to break down and take her to the shelter for a dog. It was a good experience for her and, ah," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "I kind of miss the company."

 _I miss you too._ Steve smiled into his coffee cup and took a sip. "I'm sorry that you and Grace couldn't keep the dog. I'll see what I can do to work out a visit or two if you think it'd help."

Danny shook his head. "I don't know. I think that'll do more to hit the emotional reset button. Maybe once we get our own dog we can work something out."

Steve warmed to hear he was including him in the thinking ahead. "I'm glad she's doing okay. She's a good kid." She'd talked to him sometimes like she knew there was a person behind his eyes, and he made sure to listen to every word.  
  
"The best."

The pause stretched between the three of them, their bellies and minds full for the moment until Danny pushed up from his chair. "All right, this has been fun _and_ delicious, but I gotta get to work."

Steve stood up with him. "I'll walk you out."  
  
"And then you'll come back and help clean up!" Mary called after them as they headed out the door.

"Thanks for coming today. It was really good to see you." Steve smiled when they reached his car.

"Yeah, well when Mary told me you were coming by and that they were being jerks about the whole thing, I thought it'd be nice to surprise you."  Danny pulled his phone out. "Here. Why don't you put me in as Mary's second contact number until the Navy pulls its head out, all right?"

Steve grinned and added Danny's number, glad for a way to keep in touch, even if they had to sneak for now. "Hopefully next time it'll be sanctioned."

"Next time you can come to my place instead of dragging me to the Pacific Palace here." Danny jerked his chin towards the house, his smile softening the dig. "So I don't feel like I'm living in a dump."

"Sounds good. I'll even bring food." God, he hoped it would be soon. He leaned in to hug him again but caught himself.

"I saw that." Danny opened his arms. "Come on, bring it in, you animal."

Steve hugged him tight and didn't sniff him this time. "Thanks, Danny. You take care."

He watched him drive away until he he heard Mary shout for him. He was already looking forward to next time.

* * *

Doc Arbagast smiled at Steve and the dog when they settled in. "Well, Commander, you'll be happy to know that Ten--"  
  
"Patches." Steve's rolled one of his shoulders to loosen the knots.

"That his bloodwork came back and he appears to be suffering no ill effects from the extended time in the bond."

Steve smiled down at Patches. "That's good to hear. He's a good boy, aren't you? Yeah."

"And how are you feeling, Commander? Did you have a good visit with your sister?"

"I think so. She was pretty amused at the idea that she'd been dog-sitting me the whole time, but it was really good to see her." He intended to keep the smile tight, but it was his sister. "The time in the bond...it helped lower some barriers."  
  
"How do you mean?"

"Considering the only time I hugged my sister in the last five years was at Dad's funeral, the contact without baggage...yeah, it was nice."

"But you couldn't talk to her. Did that bother you?" The Doc made a note in his pad.

"Nah. She needed to talk about her feelings. I needed--" He paused, regretting it already.

"What did you need?"

Steve looked at him. "I want to see Danny, doc."

Arbagast put his pen down. "Tell me what you liked about being with your sister while you were in the bond. One of the first things we asked you when we started all this was to communicate your feelings as best you could." He spread his hands. "That hasn't changed."

"But it has changed." Steve pointed to his pad. "If I don't say all the right things, you go to Heatherly, Heatherly gets his panties in--he gets the feeling something's wrong, and I could end up confined to base for my 'safety' for who knows how long."

Patches sat up and put his head in his lap; Steve petted him gratefully, forced himself to take a deep breath. "I know that you can keep Patches here for as long as you want, and you _and_ Heatherly know that'll keep me here, but I told you I wanted to see Danny and Grace the day I came back to my body. I haven't changed my mind."

"I know you want to see them, Commander. But we're still getting through your experiences in the bond, and I'd like to delve a little deeper before I can sign off on--"  
  
"It made me feel safe."

"I'm sorry?"

Steve sighed, talking to the dog instead of the Doc. "I felt safe with Mary. With Danny and Grace. I haven't...I haven't felt safe like that  since I was a kid."  Patches reared up and put his paws across his knee. "Military school since I was fifteen, Annapolis, Naval Intelligence, BUD/s, active duty. Every day I live my life knowing that anything can happen. When I was in the bond, when I was with Mary and Danny and Grace, I felt safe. And it was real nice. I want the chance to get a piece of that back as _me_."

He looked up at the Doc. "I lost my team, my best friend, and my father in a thirty-six hour period. I've been the equivalent of a lab animal during my training here. Danny and Grace, they were the first real connection I had that wasn't with the dog. I want to see them, and I want you to sign off on whatever I need to be cleared to see them."

The Doc folded his hands again, glanced from the dog and back to him. "I know you want to see them, but if you were in my place, what would you decide here?"

"Look, I'll say it here and now. I will stay on board with the program. I'll consult for you. I'll help screen future candidates and make sure they know what they're getting into. I'll be your fucking poster boy if this ever goes public. I just want to see them." He sighed. "If I was any other patient who had been through a trauma and wanted to see the people who helped save their life, this wouldn't even be an issue."

"You know you're not just any patient, Commander. I think we're making progress, but I don't feel comfortable make that call today."

"Not today. Okay." he repeated, smile tight. "You know what's good about being a SEAL? That we're so specialized, so good at what we do, that even if we could work with different teams as needed, we were irreplaceable. That's why Heatherly didn't want me on this project in the first place, and I have a feeling that's what could get me off base more than once every two weeks. Nobody's gone through this for as long as I have. Nobody's had this work for them before, and it'll take longer to train someone up to potentially replace my knowledge that I think I can leverage that."

He didn't like the look on the Doc's face, but he knew that was his only bargaining chip. "You called me Steve when I came back to my body, but now it's back to Commander, like you want to remind me of my duty instead of hearing about my feelings like you said you wanted from the beginning."

"Comm--Steve, you know these sessions are to help you _and_ the program. I'm sorry that this has become something adversarial."

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. "Believe me, Doc, I'm sorry too. But I've told you my feelings. I told you what I wanted. I want to know I can trust you. You want me to be honest with you. You sign off on my clearance to see Danny at my discretion, this doesn't have to be a fight anymore."

The Doc looked at the clock and smiled at him. "Let me see what I can do."

"You do that." Steve stood, letting Patches slide off his lap to follow him. "Hope to hear from you soon."

* * *

Steve knocked on the door to Danny's apartment, checking his pocket for his keys again. It was odd to be driving, but it was good to be able to get off base without needing a ride. It hadn't taken long after that conversation for Arbagast to sign off on the clearance, and within the week he'd heard things pick up in Building F. More barking from the kennels to keep Pam busy, and he and the Doc had reviewed some of the candidates they were hoping to recruit for the program. He'd taken the night off for this, though; it was a special occaion.

The door opened and he smiled at Danny, hefting the pizza boxes and a six-pack of pineapple soda. He already felt better. "Happy Friday."  
  
"Steve." Danny smiled and motioned at the box. "We were just gonna order that."  
  
"Course you were," he said. "It's pizza night."  He tapped the top of the smaller box. "Hope you don't mind that I got a little one with ham and pineapple."  
  
"Who's at the door, Danno?"  Steve brightened at the sound of Grace's voice, confused by the hesitation in Danny's manner until it hit him. Patches was the one who knew about pizza night.  Grace only knew Steve from the time she met him months ago, during his father's murder investigation.

"Jeez, I'm sorry," he said, offering him the pizza and ready to kick himself all the way back to Pearl. "Just...it's on me tonight. I didn't mean to--"  
  
"Stop." Danny motioned to him with a smile. "Stay."  He turned and opened the door a little further. "Gracie, do you remember Steve McGarrett? He's Miss Mary's brother. You met him the day you were upset about the rabbit at school."

Grace joined him in the doorway, looking up at him with big eyes. He smiled at her. "I told you I cut school because I didn't want to dissect a frog."

She looked him up and down. "You look different when you're not all dressed up. Are you still a soldier?"

"In the Navy they're called sailors, and yes. I don't have to dress up like that every day."  He would have offered his hand, but they were currently full. "It's nice to see you again, Grace."

"He's been helping Mary get their house situated since he didn't have to go back to his ship right away." Danny squeezed her shoulder. "I saw him there and we got to talking, and guess who we ended up talking about?"

"Me?"

"Because everyone needs to know that you're the light of my life, Monkey. And I guess I happened to mention Pizza Night more than once, and tonight Steve decided to surprise us with dinner." He looked at Steve with slightly wider eyes. "Right?"

Steve's shoulders sagged with relief at the very plausible story that he should have been able to come up with on his own. "Guilty as charged. But if you two want to have your usual pizza night, I won't barge in."

"Actually, we're missing our usual third for pizza night," Danny said. "Which means there's more pepperoni for us and _way_ less gas--"

"Daddy!" Grace giggled, but he could see the lingering sadness in the way the giggling stopped sooner than usual.

"So I figure as long as you don't bogart the pepperoni, maybe we can let Steve have dinner with us and watch the game?" Danny looked down at Grace, who then looked again at Steve.

"Do you like football, Mister McGarrett?"

Steve smiled again. "I like football a lot, and you can call me Steve _and_ share my Hawaiian pizza."

Danny snorted. "Then you can come in, as long as none of that blasphemous pizza gets anywhere near me. What do you say, Monkey? Let Steve come in?"

Grace nodded with another grin. "I like pineapple on pizza."

"This is what the islands have done to her. You see what I gotta deal with?"  Danny backed into the apartment and took the pizza and soda off his hands.  "Let's get this served up. The game's almost starting."

Steve settled on one end of the couch while Grace curled up with Danny on the other. He smiled to see her wrapped in "his" blanket, and as they watched the game he caught Danny looking at him more than a few times. He thought he saw sympathy, but he might have been kidding himself.  Again the idiocy of what he wanted to say shone bright in his mind. _Nobody's touched me the way you and Grace have since I came back to myself and I really miss it?_ He'd never be invited back.  He stayed silent through the rest of the game and tried not to glance over too often. He'd take whatever closeness he could get.

As the game wrapped up, Steve looked at the clock. It was more than time for him to be going back to base, but just before he pushed up from the couch he felt a light touch on his shoulder. He followed Danny's gaze down to the sleeping Grace. "Let me get her to bed," he whispered. "Don't go anywhere."

Steve channeled his energy into cleaning up while Danny put Grace to bed, wrapping up the leftover pizza and straightening the living room. When he went back to the couch and picked up the blanket, he wasn't sure what to do with it. In the end, Danny found him on the end of the couch with the blanket crumpled in his hands.

"Hey buddy," he said, with the same soft gruffness he used to greet him as a dog. Steve closed his eyes when Danny ruffled his hair gently. "Glad you could be here tonight."

Steve couldn't help leaning into the touch and sighed. "I don't know what got into me to come over like that. I just--"  He sighed again and didn't know how else to say it. "I missed you. Both. I didn't mean to intrude."

"If you were intruding, I wouldn't have let you in. I have a gun to ensure that and everything." Danny sat down and patted the couch for Steve to move closer. "I always wondered, y'know, what it would be like to live like a dog. You got the whole tour of duty on that one, and I'll bet that you're having a tougher time than you thought now that you're back on two legs."  He tilted his head, watching him. "Would it help if I told you I was having a weird time adjusting too?"

"How's it weird for you? I mean, it's easy to _not_ have a dog." Even as he said it he knew it was wrong; even before they got their implants, Steve hoped that he could take Patches with him if things didn't work out.

"Not as easy as you might think." Danny reached up and ruffled his hair again; Steve's shoulders dropped and he leaned into it. "I gotta say, it was nice to have someone around I could talk to where I didn't have to be careful what might get back to Rachael." Danny smiled. "And, you know, there's something to be said about feeling lonely, and how a pet makes you not so lonely. Even once I figured out that you were in there."

Lonely. That word bounced around in his head for a bit, and Danny hadn't stopped petting him.  "It was easier...touching like this, when I was the dog," he said.  _Even if I craved it otherwise._

"Well, you're supposed to pet a dog. It'd be weird if you didn't, especially a friendly guy like Patches. And even when you were friendly dog Steve. You're supposed to pet a dog. This?"  He skritched his fingers along his scalp. "This is more like the pair of dudes in wolf ears that I questioned on a missing person's case."

Steve smiled and drew back, ears hot as he admitted. "I don't mind so much."

"I get that feeling. And if I didn't have to worry about Grace waking up in the morning and asking questions neither of us are ready for, I'd ask you to stay."  Danny squeezed his shoulder quickly as Steve went to get up. "No no, that didn't mean I wanted you to leave. I'm just telling you where my mind is right now."

Steve leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. "I still don't...I don't want to pressure you into."  He closed his eyes again. "I'm lonely too. I have a dog who's not my dog and a family that's not my family. I'm not even sure what I'm saying even makes sense."

"Maybe because you're talking around the things that are in that confused head of yours and not saying what you really want?"

Steve tried gather words from the writhing ball of feelings in his stomach. How could he...wait.  "You remember when we watched the movie about the lost dog?"

Danny smiled. "You gotta be a little more specific than--"

"The white one that was the TV star."

"Bolt?"

"Yeah." He couldn't look at him as he worked through it. "He told the annoying cat that he kept looking for the little girl because she was his Person. You and Grace...you're my People. And I want that back again. I want to be a part of your family again. And I can't. I don't know how." He squeezed the blanket and brought it up to his weak nose to smell them together again.

"Oh, hey." Steve felt arms around him and leaned in when Danny pulled, tucking his head under Danny's chin and snuffing the tears back as Danny held him close. "Hey, you're not alone, all right? You have your sister, and you have me and Grace, and even if things are a little different now, we'll make it work, all right?" Danny squeezed the back of his neck. "We'll make it work."

He stayed there while Danny stroked his hand up and down his back, his touch easing that ball of anxiety, even the pull he felt when he was away from Patches. He was with His People, and they'd make it work.

He didn't know how long they were there before Danny's voice rumbled against his ear. "You okay there, big guy?"

Steve nodded and eased back enough to sit up, composing himself with a deep breath. "Yeah...yeah. Thanks, Danny." He offered him the blanket. "I should get back."

Danny took it with a soft smile. "Don't be a stranger, okay? Grace said you could come back next Pizza Night. I think she wants to kick your butt at Uno, but if you ask me? I think she likes you."

Steve smiled right back at him. "I'll see you then."

He headed back to the base with a lighter heart, already looking forward to seeing them again. He smiled as he pictured how Patches would react to their scent on him, and they'd both sleep better for it.


	10. Recruits and Reservations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve interviews a new recruit and finds out a few things about his own future in the program.

"Okay, this is Commander Steve McGarrett interviewing MA Cristina Valdez, currently in MWD Handler training at Lackland." Steve smiled and offered his hand to shake before they sat. "It's good to meet you."

"Thank you, sir. You as well." She glanced down and smiled at Patches, who had settled at his feet. "May I...?"

Steve smiled and gave the dog the 'send' signal. "Go say hi, Patches." He watched as Cristina greeted him first with an outstretched hand, then a laugh as he pushed up under it for petting. "He likes meeting new people."

He liked the way she interacted with him, scratching his chest and under his collar. He did notice that she'd relaxed more when interacting with Patches and he was glad he'd brought him along. He left him with her as he began the interview. "So tell me a little about your experience with the Navy. I saw in your file you served on the _Fitzgerald_?"

"Yes, sir. Weapons Department, SONAR Tech." She kept her hand on the dog's head; Patches was happy to lean on her leg and soak up the attention.

"Important job." Steve nodded, glanced at her file again. _Approached high school recruiter on her own, no criminal record. Excellent SAT scores._ "Are you from a military family? From what I see here you could have had your pick of colleges if you'd wanted to apply."

"First of my family to enlist, sir. I've been working with dogs all my life, and wanted to do something different with them than competitions or shows. MWD hander seemed the way to do that, and a way to make it a career instead of a hobby."

"I guess this program's about as different as it gets," Steve said with a smile. "As an MWD handler, you would be put in the field, doing recon and bomb sweeps. Risking both your lives. It's easy to send a dog out to find the glove you touched. It's a little harder sending him into a building where there might be snipers ready to take him out." His own stomach tightened at the idea of sending Patches anywhere on someone else's orders. "Are you ready for that?"

Cristina petted the dog's ears. "After growing up with pet dogs, it's something I've been working through, sir, but it's why we have dogs in the first place, isn't it? They do jobs for us that we can't do ourselves, protect us from danger that we can't face on our own, and to help us live safer lives. It only made sense that MWDs came from that."

He could see why Heatherly and the Doc were excited about her. If she had a good bond-partner and did well with the interface, she was a recruiting poster waiting to happen. "What about this program excites you the most?"

Her eyes lit up. "The idea of getting behind the eyes of a working dog, sir. Learning what makes them love the work so much, and working with them in a way that's...that's more than just unclipping the leash and hoping that you've given him the right signals."  She smiled down at Patches. "What about the program excited you, sir?"

Steve blinked, caught off guard by the question. "My circumstances were a little different, but my motives were similar. To take part in something that could change the face of military service. Something new and innovative and nothing like my previous experience."  He smiled at her. "I wasn't even a dog person before I met Patches there." Patches glanced over at the sound of his name, and he panted at him, the equivalent of a canine smile. "That's definitely changed."

She laughed and ruffled the dog's head. "What's been the hardest part of it, if you don't mind me asking, sir? They seemed pretty intent on a psych eval before they let me sign the papers."

Steve gathered his words carefully, but what Cranston had told him in the beginning seemed the best place to start. "Past trauma, unresolved issues...it's important that you start to deal with them before you interface with the dog. When you get to touch their minds this way, it can make your own thoughts seem a lot louder than before." He took a deep breath. "I know it's not always easy to be a woman in the military. I'm not asking you to report anything, but if there are things that happened during your first tour, things you thought you've put behind you...once you can feel how much these dogs trust us, how much they _have_ to trust us, those feelings don't stay back there for long."

Cristina nodded, her lips a little tighter. "Understood, sir."

"I'll be here every step of the way, too, so if you have any questions, you let me know."  
  
She smiled. "Does that mean...?"

"It means I think you'll be an asset to the program. I'll pass my observations to the Doc." He stood, and Patches shifted away to join him again. "But I don't think you have much to worry about." He offered his hand with a smile. "Looking forward to working with you."

She shook his hand with a bright smile of her own. "Likewise, sir. Thank you."

Steve headed for the Doc's office with his notes and his impressions fresh in his mind.

"Good morning! How did the interview go?" Doc had a bit of cheese for Patches and a smile for Steve.

"I think she's great. She's driven, she's excited about the program, and I'll be the first to admit that she's a better fit for it than I was when I volunteered." Steve smiled, already excited to work with her, see where her training would take her after his own training had stalled for a few weeks.  "Once she aces the psych eval, I'd like to give her a demonstration of the interface." He patted the dog's shoulder. "We haven't been under in over a month. If we're gonna have another recruit to work with, we should get back in practice."

He looked back up at the Doc, saw his fingers steepled at his lips, and frowned. "What's up? Did I miss something with Valdez?"

The Doc paused for a few deep breaths. "Commander Heatherly has some concerns, and...he'd like to wait another few weeks before putting you in the interface again."

Steve fought the curl of his lip. "Do you share his concerns? I thought I was your success story."

"That was before you spent so much time in the bond. Now you don't go anywhere without Ten--"  
  
"Patches. His name is Patches." He petted him when he perked up, and his frown deepened at the Doc's pointed look. "What, he doesn't have a name anymore now that he's back to lab animal?"

The Doc spread his hands as if to illustrate his point. "You have to understand our concerns, Steve."

"And there we are again, back to 'Steve' when you're trying to get me to 'understand' something that makes no sense. It'll be back to 'Commander' if I step out of line." Steve tried not to sneer, but goddammit, the Doc wasn't making this easy. "I thought that things were getting better with this. With _us_." He hated that the Doc was still his adversary, even after the blackmail bargain to see Danny.

"Steve, it's clear you don't like to be separated from him. You haven't since the first time you went under with him. The extended time spent with him, plus your eagerness to do it again...we just want to make sure this isn't indicative of something dangerous."

Steve frowned again, then his eyes went wide. "You think this is some kind of an addiction?"  The silence was answer enough. "I thought the pair bond was supposed to be paramount, that the program wanted a close connection between partners. Now all of a sudden you're worried about addiction?"

"It's something that we were watching for during the first trials, before you had your accident."  The Doc shrugged. "Then things changed. Commander Heatherly wants you out of the interface for at least as long as you were in it before he'll authorize it again. If you can hang in for that long, we can get back to work."

Steve shook his head with a weary smile and looked down at Patches. He could hold out a couple more weeks. They both could.

"Concentrate on helping Cristina through these first stages. We're thinking about trying a new approach with her, given her interest and knowledge."

Steve snorted. "Something better than the FUBAR that happened with me?"

The Doc shook his head. "Nobody's saying that that we can't learn from what happened to you. Your direction going forward may be more search and rescue. Valdez might be more MWD-related. We're still in the early stages yet, remember. Nobody's cutting anybody loose." He smiled. "Except now, because I have to go see Valdez and you need some lunch. And Pam wanted to see you later to assess the latest choices for canine potentials."

Steve pushed to his feet. "Let me know how it goes with her. I'll see you later."

Patches followed him out of the office and out of Building F. He needed some food, and a run before he saw Pam. Maybe they'd run the confidence course again and visit with the new dogs.

Halfway through lunch his phone buzzed on his hip and he smiled when he checked the screen. "Hey Danny. How's it--"  
  
"She's gone, Steve. I let her go on _one thing_ without me and she's--"  
  
"Wait, slow down. What do you mean gone? Who's gone?"

"Grace. She's on a hike with the Aloha Girls. The guide looked away for a second and she's gone."

Steve's blood went cold. Even if they were on a well-traveled trail, one slip could still mean disaster, and she was only eight years old...

"You can find her, Steve. She's my baby girl and she needs you...both of you. You know what I mean."

Steve jumped up and tossed the rest of his lunch into the trash. "I know, Danny. We'll find her. Text me where to meet you. I'll have someone call you when we're on our way."

He shoved his hand into his hair as he and Patches jogged back towards the building. The Doc wouldn't clear this, not after today, and he had about fifteen seconds to figure out what he was going to do.

Patches whined and nudged at his hand. "It's okay, buddy. We're gonna find her. We're gonna find her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a short chapter! Life got away from me this week, but stay tuned for the THRILLING CONCLUSION over the next couple chapters!


	11. Lost and...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve races against time and the Navy to try and find Grace before they realize that he's AWOL.

"Okay, Steve. Keep your head down. We'll get you out of here."

Steve tucked his shaggy head low as Pam zipped up the duffle bag. He knew that they were on borrowed time; if anyone checked the new tracking chip and saw he was off-site, or if they discovered the interface room was locked...no.  It was only twenty minutes to the trailhead, Pam told Finn and even if they got into the the interface room, they'd had to leave him linked or something worse could happen to Patches than getting hit by a car.

At least, that's what Finn would say.

He huffed a sigh of relief as they made it past the gate without incident and shoved his way out of the bag when Pam reached over and unzipped it. He put his nose to the cracked window and whined. He had to find her. He and Patches both remembered her yellow-bright scent. They would find her.

He jumped at the touch on his shoulder and turned to Pam with another whine. "It's okay, big guy," she said, scratching under his collar. "We'll make it. Finn's not gonna let anyone pull you out of there until you've found her."

He turned back to the window and sniffed the rushing wind. At least he knew the 'Aiea Loop trail well enough that when he found Grace, he could follow his own backtrail so she wouldn't get hurt.

He refused to believe she was hurt already.

He pushed that out of his mind as Pam made the turn up the road towards the trail head, and soon enough they saw the flashing lights of a police car and an ambulance. He pawed at the window and barked, catching Danny's scent in the miasma of scents and sounds in the area and _needing_ to let him know he was there.  Pam had scarcely opened the door before he was running towards the crowd, barking so Danny knew help was coming. 

"Patches!" He barked again when he caught sight of him, and all but jumped into Danny's arms when he dropped to his knees. "Jesus, it's good to see you." Danny kissed him between the eyes, and looked up when one of the officers cleared his throat.

"Sir?"  
  
Danny looked up at the officer and smiled, ruffling under Steve's chin. "I told you help was coming. Just have your men on standby so they'll be able to get her out of wherever she's stuck." 

Pam jogged up to them both. "Thanks for calling us out, Detective. Let me get St--Patches here fitted with the necessities."  She turned to the officer. "Do you have a walkie?"

"Ma'am, who are you?"  
  
She smiled at the officer. "Pam Sawyer, with Oahu Search and Rescue."  She knelt to strap Steve into a doggie backpack.  "Patches is a search dog that's been trained to work without a handler in rough terrain. He'll bring water and a walkie to Grace and help lead her to an extraction point."

"He can do all that?" The officer looked  at him again.

Danny ruffled his ears. "He can do it. He'll find Grace for me, won't he? You'll find my little girl?" He held out a sweater for him to sniff, and Steve sniffed it mostly for show.  "Please."

He pushed forward to gently lick Danny's chin. Danny had known since Pizza Night how important they were to Steve. He'd find her.

"Ready, Patches?" Pam tugged the straps on the pack to make sure they were secure. "Find her!"

And he was off, nose to the ground, the sounds around him fading as he focused on his task. He raced up the trail, tracking the bright patches of her scent, his paws getting muddier as he reached the edge of the sheer drop where her scent disappeared.

_She must have slipped here._ While it was slippery for someone who got around on two legs, thankfully it wasn't as sheer for four feet, and he made his way carefully over the edge.

The way was slippery even for his paws, and he edged his way down through the brush and around the trees, snuffling at the air and at the ground. The scent was just a couple hours old, still bright to his nose, but if she was hurt...god, if she was hurt. He pushed it out of his mind again. His job was to find her as safely as he could. This would be all over if _he_ hurt himself on his way to her. If he fell and damaged the walkie or the water bottle burst in the pack--

He skidded to a stop at the snort-squeal off to his right revealed a danger he hadn't even considered when he'd gone off the trail. He'd been so focused on tracking Grace that he hadn't even smelled it, and suddenly the idea of slipping and falling on the trail wasn't the worst that could happen.

He faced the cruel-eyed boar, heart racing as all of Patches' instincts told him to run, that the boar couldn't catch them if the really poured it on. But beyond the boar, even through it's thick scent, he caught a soft pulse of yellow-bright Grace.

The boar stamped and snorted again. If he didn't do anything, it would charge. His claws dug into the mud and earth as Patches tried to _run_.

No! He lowered his head and snarled at him, fighting past Patches' fear and letting out a volley of barks that only made it flick its ears and paw at the earth. He darted at the boar, snapping at it and hoping it wasn't defending anything but itself. It swung its head at him and he ducked just in time to avoid the sweep of its tusks. As quick as he could, he dodged around it, but when it swung around again the tusks caught his flank, spinning him into a tumble down the steep slope.

He thrashed and twisted and slid until he get find his feet again, claws digging in hard to stop himself, yelping at the flare of pain in his hip. The boar hadn't given chase, thank goodness, and he turned to sniff at his muddy flank. Its tusks had furrowed a gash along his hip, and his leg ached with a familiar throb; this was his bad leg that didn't feel broken, but he'd taken another hard hit that would send Patches back to the vet when they got back. He looked around to get his bearings as the sun dazzled through the trees. Patches might have laid down to rest, but Steve couldn't, not when Grace was still out there.

He cast around again, snuffing and limping until...there. Another flash of Grace's scent told him that she may have taken a similar tumble, hopefully not because of a boar. This one was brighter than the others; she wasn't too far away.  He barked twice, in case she could hear him, and made his careful way down a little farther, and farther still.  He hurt, oh he hurt, but he pushed on anyway. The trail was getting brighter with every painful slide through the mud.

On the third stop-and-bark, he heard a rustling from the brush and tree ahead of him. He and Patches both shook; if this was another boar, neither of them had the energy to do more than hope it passed them by.

"...hello?"

He forgot his pain and barked again, making his way towards the tree. There was a hollow at the base of the trunk and soon there were small arms around his neck and he'd _found her_ and shoved his head under her chin with a happy whine.

"Patches?" She pulled back to look at him, her cheeks and hair dirty from the mudslide she'd taken, and he licked her chin. "You came for me..." She hugged him tight and he loved every second of it. She was alive! She was alive and they would get back to Danny before bedtime, and everything was going to be okay.  He shook with relief and settled into the hollow with her, feeling the tugs as she unzipped the backpack and found the walkie. At least the only blood he smelled was his own, and he put himself between her and rest of the forest in case something else smelled it too.

He heard the crackle of static and then silence as Grace clicked it on. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

He lay his head in Grace's lap as they both heard Danny's voice. "Grace? Baby, are you okay?"  
  
"I twisted my ankle when I fell, but stayed where I was and Patches came and found me."  
  
"I sent Patches to find you, baby, and he knew just where to look, didn't he? Can you find the button his collar and push it? That will tell us where you are and we can come get you."

Steve lifted his head so Grace could find the GPS booster. "Okay, Danno. Now what?"

"Now you stay right there, sweetie. We'll come find you and Patches. There's a bottle of water, a protein bar, and a blanket that Patches brought for you. You have some of that, put the blanket around you, and keep talking to me, okay?"

The adrenalin was fading, and the relief and exhaustion settled over him like its own warm blanket as Grace and Danny talked. He tried to stay awake for her, but the throb in his leg and hip sapped at his remaining energy, and last thing he heard before he closed his eyes was, "Daddy, I think Patches got hurt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies if this trail wouldn't necessitate a search and rescue! I tried to find a trail that was short enough to take a group of 8-10 year olds on a hike with enough hazards for someone to get into non-lethal trouble.


	12. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the chapter title suggests - Steve learns the consequences of his actions.

Steve came awake with Amadi leaned over him. He sat up quickly, ignoring the dizziness because he had to know. "Grace. How's Grace?"

"She's okay," Cranston called from the monitoring station. "Stay here while we get you unhooked."  
  
He flexed his leg, anticipating pain but feeling nothing...right. He wasn't the one that had been hurt. "How's Patches? Is he...there was a boar." He looked at Amadi, his heart going cold until Cranston spoke up.

"Dr. DeSouza's working on him now. He needed some stitches, a splint and a bath, but you're both gonna be fine. Let's get you back on your feet."

Steve's shoulders sagged and he stayed as still as he could, trying not to look at the door while they disconnected him from the interface. While he wanted to see Patches, he had a feeling that the second he was well enough to leave the room, Commander Heatherly would demand an accounting of what happened.

Speaking of...he looked around as he moved to stand. "Where's Finn?"

Amadi and Cranston looked at each other. "He's with Commander Heatherly," Cranston said, mouth and shoulders tight. "When you're back on your feet, he wants to see you too."

He sighed. _I'm sure he does._ "Thanks."

They said nothing more as he got dressed, the tension in the room so palpable he left as soon as he could. He knew this would be trouble, but they had to understand that he _had_ to. It didn't stop the twitch of anxiety in his belly as he knocked on Commander Heatherly's door.

Finn opened the door and didn't look at Steve as he headed back down the hall.  "Finn," he called softly, but the other man turned the corner without responding.

"McGarrett!"

He squared his shoulders and walked through the door, closing it behind him, the silence in the room like gathering thunder. Heatherly looked at him for a long moment before he spoke, his voice far calmer than his expression.

"I should have listened to my gut when you volunteered, but I didn't, because you assured me that you'd be an asset to the program. That was my mistake. The insubordination, the threat to the secrecy and success of this program that you perpetrated tonight? That's on _you_. And the people that helped you."

Steve frowned at him. "Sir, they--"

"They had nothing to do with it? Tell me how far you would have gotten if they hadn't agreed to help you! They're lucky they're just getting fired and not prosecuted, but you." His lip curled. "You're still just enough of an asset that I can't do a goddamned thing, and let me tell you, McGarrett, if I could, I would court martial you and get you thrown out of the Navy for the shit you pulled tonight."

Steve's heart sank for Finn and Pam. The opportunity to work with this kind of program came along once in a lifetime, and now...

"But I can tell you one thing. You won't have another chance to endanger this program. Your participation has an end date as of now. As soon as Valdez is trained up and showing progress in the interface, your neural implant comes out and you can pack your bags. Until then, you're confined to base and will work with Valdez until she's ready."

Steve tried not to sigh, but he understood. Valdez was definitely more of what they were looking for, and he would give her all the advice he could as she moved through the initial stages of the interface. And, if he had to be honest with himself, after all he'd been through and the things he was still working through, continuing to interface with Patches wouldn't be good for him.

"--placing Ten with a future recruit for the program."

"What?" Steve felt himself go cold. "Sir, you can't do that!"

Heatherly's eyebrows popped up towards his hairline. "Can't I? You risked millions of dollars of military technology to go for a run through the goddamned woods. Who do you think is in the wrong here? You might not be a viable candidate for this program anymore, but Ten has proven himself and will be partnered with someone else as soon as another recruit becomes available."

"Sir, please. You can't--" Steve's heart raced and he forced himself to use Heatherly's name for him. "Ten is more than military technology and you know it. I'm his partner! Do you think he's going to bond with anyone else after all this?"

"I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I know you had a nice time leveraging your success and skillset for visitation rights, but once you're out, Ten won't be your concern anymore." He closed the file on his desk and motioned to the door. "You're dismissed, Commander."

Steve left the office out of pure muscle memory and he didn't stop until he got outside. He slid down the wall, hands shaking as he tried to catch his breath and usually Patches would be pushing in with his furry head to get him out of this before it got worse. Now _Ten_ wasn't here, so he clenched his hands into fists and tried to take deeper breaths, concentrate on what he could see, hear, smell. He had to get it together, and keep it together if he wanted any hope of getting Patches back.

By ten breaths, his heartbeat slowed. By twenty, he pushed back up to his feet and looked up at the fat moon above.

He _needed_ to get him back.

He could go to Arbagast. The Doc knew how much of a comfort Patches had been to him when the nightmares started. He could keep his nose squeaky clean while the Doc pleaded his case with Heatherly--

Steve shook that thought off before his heart caught up with his brain. They already thought he was addicted to the interface. Even when they took the implant out, they might still suspect contact with the dog would be harmful somehow. 

He took another deep breath and let it out slowly. He had weeks to figure out how to make sure Patches could come with him. Right now he needed to see him. He'd been hurt, and was probably scared, even in Dr. DeSouza's familiar hands. He didn't meet anyone's eyes as he headed back inside and towards the kennels and vet clinic.

The door was locked, but Dr. DeSouza came around the corner when he knocked, paused when she saw it was him but came to the door anyway. She called through the glass instead of opening it. "I can't let you in here, Commander. I'm under orders."

"Please, just two minutes. You don't even have to open the cage door. I just want to see that he's okay." He pressed his hand to the glass. "Please. You can post a guard on the door or me or anything you want. I just want to see him."

She looked him over and twirled her finger. "Step back and turn around. Show me you're not carrying and you get two minutes."

He even lifted his shirt when he turned for her and she beckoned him in quickly. "He's doing all right. The cut was deep, but it wasn't infected by the time you got him back to us. He just needs some rest and antibiotics."  Two other dogs sniffed at them as they went through the kenneling area. She nodded to the bank of larger cages against the back wall, the nearest of which held a shaggy shape that shuffled to the front with a soft whimper.

"Heyyyy buddy." Steve smiled and went to his knees as Patches licked his fingers through the bars. "You did good, boy. You found Grace and you saved the day." He looked back at Dr. DeSouza and opened the cage so he could pet him. "You're such a good boy, aren't you? You're gonna get better and be good for the doc here, okay? You can do that for me?"

Patches stretched up to lick his chin and Steve smiled through the threatening tears. "Don't you worry, big guy. I can take care of myself." He kissed his nose. "You just concentrate on healing up. I'll bring your Kong back for you. And your bear."

"Commander," The vet called. "Time's up."

He sighed, and ruffled Patches' ears gently.  "Be a good boy. Maybe I'll see you soon."  He eased him back into the cage and shut the door, and tried not to listen to whimper and jangle of the cage door as Patches tried to follow him. "Thanks, Doc." He wiped his eyes and couldn't meet hers as he headed back out of the kennels.

"Commander?" He turned back to see her in the doorway. "Pam wanted me to tell you that she knew the risks. And not to blame yourself."

Steve swallowed and nodded; maybe one day he could take comfort in that, but not yet. "Take good care of him, Doc. He's really something special."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing as fast as I can! Will have more for you next Sunday :)


	13. Reconnection Redux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve reconnects with Danny after his release from the program, and thinks about his future in the Navy and Hawaii.

Steve sat on 'his' beach chair on the lanai, a beer sweating in his hand and the incision scar itching around his ear while he watched the waves roll in.  Three more days and he could swim, and in Steve's mind they couldn't go by fast enough. Running wasn't the solace it used to be; he kept glancing down to see if Patches was keeping up.

He took a long pull on the beer and tried not to think of how he left without saying good-bye.

 _He's still in a touchy place right now,_ Doc DeSouza had told him when he'd asked. _He's eating and behaving fine, but he's still anxious. If he sees you again..._

He remembered Danny talking about how Grace would go back to square one emotionally if she got to see Patches after they had to let him go. He wouldn't do that to Patches, but left his number with the vet and left Building F for the last time. Doc Arbagast had come out to say good-bye and gave him a referral for a civilian therapist if he wished to continue therapy. _If you want to talk about what happened in the program, please get back in touch with me, and we can schedule some time._ He'd smiled. _Security clearance is still security clearance._

Now he was home after a month and a half of base restriction. Mary picked him up at the base, but had to go back to the mainland to wrap up the last of her affairs before coming back for good. She told him that she'd fixed up their father's old room for him to stay before she went to the airport. Danny was on his way over with pizza. He should be happy, but now he felt adrift again, wondering where he fit now that this amazing experience was over.

It was odd, working with Cristina and the new trainer Diane, like his time in the interface program was the true 'dry run' before the _real_ work began, and maybe it was. Cristina worked with a six month old Malinois named Sparks instead of a shelter dog, and both of them flew through the initial stages of the interface and beyond. Cristina took to the interface like she was born to it, and even though the team noticed the same odd synchronized movements when she and the dog weren't connected, he'd needed a session or two with Arbagast to deal the anger and resentment that surfaced when nobody raised an eyebrow when it was her and Sparks, and why the fuck did she get to name her dog when Patches was still just a number?

_You came from different experiences, different tours of duty, different situations. The direction of the program has changed. Things that we thought were potential problems aren't as heavily weighed anymore._

_Well, good thing I came along to be the poster boy for What Not To Do._

When all was said and done, he was glad to be out of the program. If he could have taken Patches with him, maybe he could have come out of it with a better outlook on things after the experiences they'd shared. Now he just wanted to try and put it behind him and to reconnect with the people that could help him do it.

He turned at the sound of the back door sliding open and smiled as one of them came outside. "Don't you _haoles_ ever knock?"

"Don't I knock, he says, like I haven't been at your front door for five minutes until I realized it was unlocked. I could have robbed you blind."  Danny grinned back at him and opened his arms. "Get over here."  
  
Steve was already there, and hugged him tight, swaying with him as he felt his world getting a little more balanced. "God, I missed you." He pulled back to look at him. "How's Grace? She should be getting her boot off any day now." The pictures that Danny had texted him through her recovery had kept him going some days.

"The doctor said she can start walking without the boot if she takes it slow. How about you?" He motioned towards his ear with a little finger twirl. "How's the, ah..."

"It doesn't itch if I don't think about it too much. I'll be good in a couple days."  He squeezed Danny's arm. "You bring pizza?"

"Like you haven't been texting me about it for the last two weeks. Come on, let's eat. You got one of those beers for me?"

Steve wolfed down half the pizza and slowed down only when Danny laughed at him.

"Look at you. Animal. Do you even chew in the Army?"

"Navy." Steve looked around and grabbed a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth. "Better?"

"Just making sure you and that mutt didn't switch minds while they kept you on the base." He toyed with his pizza crust. "How's the furry guy doing?"

Steve shook his head and looked back out towards the ocean. "The vet said he's healthy, but he's still off, y'know?" He shrugged. "They're hopeful that he can bond with someone else and that'll get him out of the slump."

Danny sighed. "That sucks, man. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." He turned back and saw Danny watching him, and held up his hand when Danny opened his mouth again. "No more apologies."

"If I hadn't--"

"Danny, I chose to do what I did. I would do it again if we were back in that moment. What happened after isn't your fault." Steve finished off his beer and stood. "You want another? We can move this to the couch." He didn't want Danny to keep looking at him that way, and was glad when the subject seemed to drop by the time they were on the couch with a couple more beers and a movie playing softly on the TV. He resisted the urge to curl up against him like he had the last night they'd been together, settling for their shoulders touching in a not-quite-cuddle. They watched the movie for a while before Danny spoke again.

"You know,  you look like you took off some weight there." Danny looked him up and down. "Maybe you don't want me to feel bad, but punishing yourself isn't gonna help anyone."

Steve looked down at himself. "Yeah I know. The Doc called it 'maladaptive coping'. You could have bounced a quarter off my bed on-base too." He turned, surprised by Danny's fingers in his hair, but his gentle smile had him relaxing into the touch.  "I miss him. The things I got to do and feel because of that dog? It changed a lot of things. Brought up a lot of stuff I thought I'd put behind me." He sighed. "I don't even know if I want to stay on active duty." Even saying it out loud made him more sure that he _didn't_ want to go back. He would call that therapist tomorrow to make an appointment.

"Buddy, you've been through the mental and emotional wringer with all this. You got time to figure it out." Danny ruffled his hair softly. "It's your first day off-base. You don't have to worry about everything at once. Take a longer leave if you have to."

Steve smiled at the irony. "You know, all this time I stayed away from Hawaii, and now I don't want to leave."

He could hear the smile in Danny's voice. "Well, not all of us can pine for New Jersey. But if your Dad was the reason you stayed away...maybe now you have your sister here, you have more of a reason to stick around."

Steve closed his eyes and nudged back into him. "It's more than my sister and you know it." He'd had a long time without Patches to think about the emotions he and the dog had shared, and the emotions that he knew were his own, and it may be his first day back in the world, but he had to. "I want to spend time with you and Grace. And maybe more days like this too."

He felt Danny freeze for just a moment against him. "I mean, if you even _want_ \--"

"No no, I just needed a second to readjust." He didn't move away, but he skritched his fingers in his hair again. "I just hope you're planning to pay for the food too. And maybe get a job. Because I, Steven, am not a cheap date."  
  
Steve smiled and drew back to see Danny smiling too. "I know it's only the first day, but...I've had a lot of time to think about the idea. I don't want to freak you out."

Danny squeezed his shoulder. "Hey, we have all the time in the world to figure it out, if what you're thinking about active duty is something you get a say in these days. I hear the Governor hasn't tapped anyone for her special task force. Maybe it's still an option."

Steve frowned. "I wasn't talking about the job."

"And I wasn't telling you 'no' to days like this either." He glanced toward the door. "Your sister gonna be back tonight?"  He smiled when Steve shook his head. "Then c'mere."

Danny shifted away from him on the couch, and beckoned him down until he was laying with his head pillowed on Danny's thigh. "I've had a lot of time to think about things too, and I think that you were missing this."

Steve settled in, a little confused but, as they'd both said, this was just the first day. He didn't have to think of everything at once. Sometimes moments like this were precious in their own right, and Danny's hand stroking up and down his arm had his eyes drooping already.

He woke after sundown and yawningly walked Danny back to his car. "Next time I expect conversation, sleepyhead," Danny said when they hugged again, but he kissed his temple anyway, and Steve watched until the taillights faded before he went back inside.  He smiled and tucked into the rest of the pizza, feeling peaceful and proud of himself and maybe a little excited about his future.

Maybe he'd speak to the Governor tomorrow.

* * *

_He was running, running through the thick undergrowth of jungle. There was a man down, and he had to find him find him find him because the people with him could get him to the extraction point but only if he FOUND HIM.  He ducked and wove around the thicker plants and kept his nose to the ground, and jumped when he heard gunshots coming from the trees. The men returned fire and he returned to the scent that grew brighter with every bound along the ground--_

_There! He barked twice and nosed at the downed man who petted him weakly. One of the team provided cover fire while the other two picked the downed man up and they were going to get out of there. He'd done good, they were headed back to base._

_He yelped as a shot caught him in the shoulder and the second shot bowled him over as fire bloomed in his chest._

_"The dog!" He looked up at the one who knelt and tried to check him over, curled his paw over his wrist._

_"Leave him! We gotta go!"_

_He pawed at the ground as the kneeling one stood up, wanting to follow but he couldn't get up, watching the boots recede as he tried to breathe--_

Steve started awake, clutching at one of his pillows as his heart went from racing to pounding to beating again. He'd never had a dream about the interface before, but as he took his slow, deep breaths he knew that he should have expected it, with him 'safe' at home and Patches still in Building F. If he did bond with someone else, and the interface program continued the way he saw it going...

He hugged the pillow against his chest and let the tears come before the anxiety could spiral into panic. He could get through this, maybe get back to sleep for the night, and call the therapist in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter next week! Thanks to everyone for reading along and leaving such lovely feedback :D


	14. And Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve takes the Governor's offer. Settling in and resolutions.

Steve, Chin, and Kono advanced on the shipping yard, tac vests snug and guns ready. He waved the other two on and scanned the higher ground for shooters. This had to go down by the numbers if they were to save Robin and the Ambassador from Carlos Bagoyo.

"One of 'em's making the rounds, coming your way now."

Steve listened to Danny's voice in his ear and crouched behind the dumpster.

"He's coming up right behind you...he'll be on you in about ten seconds. Wait..."

He slid the crowbar off the crate and gripped it tight.

"Wait for it...now!"

He swung it low, taking out the gunman's knee, then across his head to finish the job, moving in quick to secure their position and get the hostages clear. The ensuing fight with Bagoyo was vicious and cathartic, and worth every tender rib that had him moving a little more carefully as they wrapped things up at HQ.

He watched from his office and smiled at the way they moved through their new space. They'd really come together as a team in the past couple months. From the moment he'd accepted Jameson's job offer and Danny agreed to be his partner, he'd been allowed to hand-pick his people.  He and Danny had run into Chin when they'd taken Grace to Pearl Harbor and he'd invited him out for a beer a few days later to offer him a place on the team.

_I trust you. You know why? Because my old man did._

No cop should be reduced to working at a gift shop.

It was only natural that Kono join them just after graduating from the Academy. Once he heard about the flak she was getting from her fellow officers about her cousin, he offered her the position almost immediately. Her sniper skills were amazing, she gave him a run for his money in hand-to-hand for someone with only civilian-level training, and she knew how to think on her feet. She was already good. Experience would make her even better, and he could offer that experience without the prejudice of the HPD.

They'd come so far together, faster than even the governor expected. Steve wasn't surprised; he knew the kind of response that came from people who wanted to keep their island home safe. It should have given him that sense of purpose he'd been chasing since his father was killed. It had already given him so much...

 

* * *

 

"How are things going at work?" Dr. Ellis made a quick note and set his pad aside to listen.

Steve smiled. "Good. Real good. The way the team's come together has been amazing. They're good people, and we're already doing good work."

"That's good to hear. You've told me what that means to you, both doing good work and having solid people at your side. I'm glad to hear you've found that. And with Detective Williams? How are you to working out with working together and working on your new connection?"

Steve ducked his head with another smile, his ears warming with a memory.

_"You're lookin' a little tender there, babe."_

_Steve looked down at the blooming bruises on his ribs, shirt still in his hand, and winced when he shrugged. "I wasn't the one getting hit with a crowbar."_

_Danny smiled. "Looked like you got your fill with Bagoyo at least." He moved in closer. "The way you get, I'm surprised you're not a little more revved up."_

_"Oh, is that what surprised you? I heard your reaction to the crowbar thing." Steve smiled and closed the distance to chase a kiss. "Maybe that's what has me revved up."_

"Yeah. Things are good there too. We're working it out." Kissing and petting and just being close was definitely a good start. Things would go further when they were both ready.

"And are you still having the nightmares?"

Steve blinked out of the soft memory and nodded. "Not as often as before. Maybe once a week now."

"Has the content changed at all in the past weeks?"

He didn't want to think about it, but _not_ thinking about it had brought him to Doctor Ellis in the first place. "Yeah. Some are about Freddy, but they're easier to wake up from. It's the other ones. About Patches." He'd told the doctor that Patches was an MWD he'd been paired with for a special assignment. It was easier than going back to Arbagast.

"What are the new dreams like? What do you feel when you wake up from those?"

"Sometimes they're separate dreams. Freddy yelling at me about never leaving a man behind. Or it's just Patches staring at me, and I remember the last time I looked in his eyes, and--" Steve blinked back the sudden sting of tears. "I should have fought harder to get him out."

"From what you told me, fighting harder would have cost you your career and your dog's--"

"My partner. He was my partner, and the way we worked together...I don't know if he'll ever get used to whoever comes after me, and that could cost him his life."

"He's a military working dog; it's the nature of his training to adapt to new situations and new handlers if necessary. Do you think he'll fail?"

"I don't think _he'll_ fail. I know he'll try his best because that's what he's trained to do. But our specialization required a closer bond than usual. Ours was great, but severed too soon because they say _I_ failed. Having to leave him behind the way I did, I just," Steve shook his head. "It hurt both of us. But his future is way more uncertain than mine, and that's _my_ fault."

Ellis paused for a few heartbeats. "You told me what you could about your military service. I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of survivor guilt?"

"This is different." Steve shook his head a little. "I can't tell you the specifics, but leaving him behind is a lot bigger than just handing the leash over to someone else. Freddy knew what he was asking when he told me to leave him. Patches doesn't understand and there's no way to explain it to him, and I guess I haven't come to terms with that yet."

"Mm. Our time is up, but how about you work on that before our next appointment? Write him a letter. Pretend he can understand you and explain it to him. We can talk about it next time, and it's your choice if you want to let me read it."

"Write a letter to a dog?"

"Humor me. It might help you with the coming to terms you're worried about."

 

 

* * *

 

Steve sat at his kitchen table with a pad of paper and a pen. He stared at the blank page and took another pull on his beer, his third that night, and maybe he needed a few more if he was going to wrap his head around writing a letter to Patches that he'd never see, and he'd never get to tell him anyway.

_Dear Patches,_

Christ, here we go.

_I'm sorry I didn't get to say good-bye to you. It wasn't fair and we weren't sure if it would just upset you more. Maybe it would have upset me more. I don't know. I've had a few beers._

_I'm sorry, buddy. If it wasn't for you recovering from the accident, I probably wouldn't be here to write this letter. You're a good dog and I wish more than anything that I could have taken you with me when I left. I know you'll do great with someone else and I probably have nothing to worry about, but apparently I'm the one who can't handle that I won't see you again. Go figure._

_Working with you in the interface, and then just being with you in there for the time we had? It showed me so much. It let me feel so many things that I never would have thought about if I'd never volunteered for the program. I'm better about being touched now. About letting other people care about me. For me. And maybe I might be able to let someone love me a little too. We'll see. You know how Danny is. He still pets me like he used to with you._

_But jesus, I miss you. You used to be the one who woke me out of my bad dreams. I miss running with you and I miss what we shared together. I won't ever forget it, and I wish I could just hug you again and take you home and I don't want you going out into the field and getting shot when it was my fault you_

Steve put the pen down and wiped the tears off his cheeks. He'd have to come back to it later. He had work in the morning.

* * *

 

_This message has been brought to you today by the letter F and the number 10. Diamond Head Lookout at 7pm -- PS_

Steve and Danny pulled into the nearly empty parking lot. The only other car there was a minivan, side door open while a couple of tourists took pictures of the beautiful view.  They watched them load their kids back into the van and leave, and Steve settled in to wait, looking at the mystery text on his phone.

"All right, look."

"Danny--"

"I'm concerned."

"Island time. They'll be here."

"That's not why I'm concerned, Steven. I know you can handle just about anything when it comes to this stuff, but I need to know what your play is here. Kono told us this was a prepaid cell, untraceable. For all you know, someone else found out about the program and wants to buy your information. Or Homeland Security wants to shut you up for good."

Steve shook his head, checking the mirrors again with a sigh. "They wouldn't have mentioned Ten if they wanted secrets, and if they wanted to kill me, they wouldn't do it out here."

"They would if they wanted to make it look like a mugging, or one of our perps out for revenge. And they _would_ use the dog to get you out here, because anyone who meets you outside our rendition room knows how big of a sap you are."

"I'm not a sap! The message didn't say to come alone, and I know how much you hate me going all 'lone wolf super SEAL' so..." He gestured to Danny. "Backup. We can handle this."

"Great, so you brought me along to shut me up? Would you say this is mission accomplished? I'm just saying, if we get shot dead, then someone's not gonna get my Nanna's special pasta carbonara this--

Steve straightened as a car pulled into the lot. "Contact."  He glanced back in the mirror as the car drove by behind them. "I make two occupants." He followed the car's progress and frowned at movement from the back seat. "Possible third staying low in the back."  
  
Danny turned to look, not bothering to hide it. "Sniper?"

"Can't tell." Steve's hand dropped to his gun as the car parked about ten spaces away. The driver turned and Steve caught the flash of long hair in the setting sun. "Driver female. Unsure of the second. Let's go."

They got out of the car, Danny with gun drawn, Steve with his hand on his holster. "Five-0! Step out of the vehicle slowly, hands where we can see 'em!"

He grabbed for his gun as he saw an explosion of movement from the back seat that boiled up into the front.  The driver opened the door and a reddish shaggy blur shoved out and raced across the parking lot.

"Patches...?" Steve managed to shove his gun back in the holster and dropped to one knee before the dog barreled into him, whining and pushing close. He wrapped his arm around the dog's shaggy shoulders and ruffled at his ears. "Hey buddy, how you doin'?" he crooned, his teeth clicking together as Patches shoved his head under his chin. "Who's a good boy? God, I missed you."

"Looks like the feeling was mutual." Steve looked up to see Pam smiling down at them. "I'm sorry about the cloak and dagger. We just couldn't take any chances."

Patches spotted Danny and wriggled free, dancing up to him for petting and attention. Steve rose to his feet as Doc DeSouza joined Pam. "I can't believe it. How did you get him off the base?" He glanced over at him, still amazed that he was even there.

"We killed him."

Steve whipped back to DeSouza. "What?"

Pam nudged at her. "Kelly, stop it." She smiled at Steve. "As far as Building F and the team is concerned, Patches was euthanized per Commander Heatherly's orders."

"Euthanized? What happened?" Danny joined the conversation and smiled as Patches settled pantingly at Steve's feet. "He stop eating his Wheaties?"

"Close enough. We had another candidate join the program, and Heatherly ordered him paired up with Patches to get him back on active duty." Kelly sighed. "He fought the bond from the start, actively resisting commands and stressing himself out so much until we disconnected the bond to keep him from hurting himself.  And between sessions, he was miserable. Barely ate, whined for hours. His partner requested a new dog after the third attempt ended in both of them getting sick."

Steve rubbed at his mouth reflexively, remembering the fearful nausea of his dreams. "So Heatherly ordered him--"

"Yeah. I just...I couldn't do that, not when I knew what would make him happy again." She looked at Pam, the two of them sharing a sympathetic smile. "So we cooked up a plan. My skills with anesthesia lent the authenticity I needed, the implant and his tracking chip went into the incinerator, and I got him off base yesterday."

Pam knelt to pet his ears. Patches licked her wrist, eyes squeezed shut in canine bliss. "So now this fella's looking for a home. I don't know if you two know anyone who might have some room for him..." She looked up with a grin. "He's had all his shots and he's housebroken. What do you say?"

Steve couldn't say anything; he knelt with her and leaned down to kiss the top of Patches' head.  Danny answered for them. "Yeah, I think we might know someone."

Steve looked between both women and smiled. "I don't know how to thank you for this." Pam had lost her job and probably her standing in regards to future military contracts. Kelly had put her job on the line. They'd done more for him and Patches than he ever would have asked of them. 

Pam squeezed his shoulder and stood back up. "Nobody in that program is there to advocate for the dogs. Kelly does what she can, and I think Cristina is going to be an ally too. But you and Patches were a case that nobody anticipated. Nobody wanted to own the fallout, and we knew we couldn't let Heatherly put him down just for washing out."

Patches sat up and leaned into Steve's chest again, curling one paw around his wrist.  Steve hugged him again. "Is that what we are, buddy? A couple of washouts?"

Danny smiled down at them. "Look at this guy. Made it through BUD/s and god knows how many classified missions, but get one dog involved and he turns into a sap."

"What did I tell you about the s-word, Danno?"

Pam laughed and offered her hand. "Take good care of him. Steve has Kelly's number. Maybe we can visit sometime?"

"You bet." Danny shook her hand and pulled her in for a hug. "Thanks for letting him come look for Grace."

Steve stood and hugged Kelly. "Thanks for doing all you could for him when I couldn't be there."

They both gave Patches a kiss good-bye, and soon Steve and Danny were waving at their taillights.

Steve smiled down at the dog again and looked at Danny. "So, you were saying something about how this was dangerous?"

"Shut up, you big goof. I can admit when I'm wrong, unlike some partners I know."  He reached down to pet him. "What are we gonna tell Grace?"

"I have no idea." He still couldn't believe that Patches was here to stay.  "Let's get him back to my place and we'll figure it out."

"Your place? I'm sorry, this is Grace's dog--"

"That you hit with your car, Danny. Do you really think that I'm gonna--" He paused, looking at the way Danny's eyes crinkled in the setting sun. "You're fucking with me, aren't you?"

Danny grinned, and Steve grabbed his shoulder to pull him into a hug. "You're an asshole."

"Someone has to remind you the world doesn't revolve around you," Danny smiled into his throat and kissed the line of his jaw. "Let's get fur face home, get the supplies you need, and then we can figure out what to tell Grace."

"Sounds like a plan." He let go of Danny and looked at Patches again. "What do you say, buddy? Wanna go home?"

Patches whined and danced on his front paws until Steve opened the door for him to jump in.

"And of course he's gonna shed all over my seats. I don't know why I indulge either of you."

Steve smiled as he started Danny's car. "Because you're a sap. Put your window down so he can enjoy the ride."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done! Thanks to all of you read along, who left kudos and wonderful comments, who hung in there, and I hope that it was worth the wait :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [MWD Cover Art](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10192241) by [Ricechex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ricechex/pseuds/Ricechex)




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